Stranger Things is an American science fiction, horror, mystery, and drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers for streaming on Netflix. [1] [2] The brothers, as well as Karl Gajdusek in the first season only, are the program's showrunners. [3] They also executive produce the series with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. [4] The show features a large ensemble cast [5] and takes place in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. It is set in the 1980s and revolves around the actions of the town's citizens when a government agency experiments with the paranormal and supernatural using human test subjects. In the process, they created a portal to an alternate dimension which is referred to as the Upside Down.
The first season of eight episodes was released on July 15, 2016. A second season of nine episodes and third season of eight episodes were released on October 27, 2017, and July 4, 2019, respectively. [6] The fourth season was delayed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television. [7] [8] Consisting of nine episodes split across two volumes, the first seven episodes of season four were released on May 27, 2022, and the final two were released on July 1, 2022. [6] This season also featured a significant increase in episode lengths which exceeded that of many feature films, with run times ranging from 63 to 150 minutes. [9] [10] In February 2022, Netflix renewed the series for a fifth and final season. [11] Production on season five was delayed by the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes. [12] [13] It was later revealed that the season would contain eight episodes and be released across November and December 2025 in three different segments. [14]
Along with COVID and strike delays, the program also requires an extensive number of visual and special effects which has contributed to the extended time period between release dates. [15] Stranger Things is considered one of Netflix's flagship series and has set viewership records on the platform. [16] [17] [18] It has also been the subject of critical acclaim [19] and has gained a cult following. [20] The series has won several accolades and been nominated for numerous others. [21] [22] It has also spawned a stage play [23] and has a spin-off series in development. [24]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | July 15, 2016 |
2 | 2 | "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | July 15, 2016 |
3 | 3 | "Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly" | Shawn Levy | Jessica Mecklenburg | July 15, 2016 |
4 | 4 | "Chapter Four: The Body" | Shawn Levy | Justin Doble | July 15, 2016 |
5 | 5 | "Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat" | The Duffer Brothers | Alison Tatlock | July 15, 2016 |
6 | 6 | "Chapter Six: The Monster" | The Duffer Brothers | Jessie Nickson-Lopez | July 15, 2016 |
7 | 7 | "Chapter Seven: The Bathtub" | The Duffer Brothers | Justin Doble | July 15, 2016 |
8 | 8 | "Chapter Eight: The Upside Down" | The Duffer Brothers | Story by : Paul Dichter Teleplay by : The Duffer Brothers | July 15, 2016 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | 1 | "Chapter One: MADMAX" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | October 27, 2017 |
10 | 2 | "Chapter Two: Trick or Treat, Freak" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | October 27, 2017 |
11 | 3 | "Chapter Three: The Pollywog" | Shawn Levy | Justin Doble | October 27, 2017 |
12 | 4 | "Chapter Four: Will the Wise" | Shawn Levy | Paul Dichter | October 27, 2017 |
13 | 5 | "Chapter Five: Dig Dug" | Andrew Stanton | Jessie Nickson-Lopez | October 27, 2017 |
14 | 6 | "Chapter Six: The Spy" | Andrew Stanton | Kate Trefry | October 27, 2017 |
15 | 7 | "Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister" | Rebecca Thomas | Justin Doble | October 27, 2017 |
16 | 8 | "Chapter Eight: The Mind Flayer" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | October 27, 2017 |
17 | 9 | "Chapter Nine: The Gate" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | October 27, 2017 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
18 | 1 | "Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | July 4, 2019 |
19 | 2 | "Chapter Two: The Mall Rats" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | July 4, 2019 |
20 | 3 | "Chapter Three: The Case of the Missing Lifeguard" | Shawn Levy | William Bridges | July 4, 2019 |
21 | 4 | "Chapter Four: The Sauna Test" | Shawn Levy | Kate Trefry | July 4, 2019 |
22 | 5 | "Chapter Five: The Flayed" | Uta Briesewitz | Paul Dichter | July 4, 2019 |
23 | 6 | "Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum" | Uta Briesewitz | Curtis Gwinn | July 4, 2019 |
24 | 7 | "Chapter Seven: The Bite" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | July 4, 2019 |
25 | 8 | "Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | July 4, 2019 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
26 | 1 | "Chapter One: The Hellfire Club" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | May 27, 2022 |
27 | 2 | "Chapter Two: Vecna's Curse" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | May 27, 2022 |
28 | 3 | "Chapter Three: The Monster and the Superhero" | Shawn Levy | Caitlin Schneiderhan | May 27, 2022 |
29 | 4 | "Chapter Four: Dear Billy" | Shawn Levy | Paul Dichter | May 27, 2022 |
30 | 5 | "Chapter Five: The Nina Project" | Nimród Antal | Kate Trefry | May 27, 2022 |
31 | 6 | "Chapter Six: The Dive" | Nimród Antal | Curtis Gwinn | May 27, 2022 |
32 | 7 | "Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | May 27, 2022 |
33 | 8 | "Chapter Eight: Papa" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | July 1, 2022 |
34 | 9 | "Chapter Nine: The Piggyback" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | July 1, 2022 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title [25] [26] | Directed by | Written by [27] | Original release date [14] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
35 | 1 | "Chapter One: The Crawl" | The Duffer Brothers [27] | The Duffer Brothers | November 26, 2025 |
36 | 2 | TBA [a] | The Duffer Brothers [27] | The Duffer Brothers | November 26, 2025 |
37 | 3 | "Chapter Three: The Turnbow Trap" | Frank Darabont [28] | Caitlin Schneiderhan | November 26, 2025 |
38 | 4 | "Chapter Four: Sorcerer" | TBA | Paul Dichter | November 26, 2025 |
39 | 5 | "Chapter Five: Shock Jock" | Frank Darabont [28] | Curtis Gwinn | December 25, 2025 |
40 | 6 | "Chapter Six: Escape from Camazotz" | TBA | Kate Trefry | December 25, 2025 |
41 | 7 | "Chapter Seven: The Bridge" | TBA | The Duffer Brothers | December 25, 2025 |
42 | 8 | "Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up" | The Duffer Brothers [27] | The Duffer Brothers | December 31, 2025 |