Created by the Duffer Brothers, “Stranger Things” is a new American science fiction-horror series, written and directed by Matt and Ross Duffer and executive-produced by Shawn Levy.
The first season stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono and Matthew Modine, with Noah Schnapp and Joe Keery in recurring roles. The second season will feature Schnapp and Keery promoted to series regulars, along with the addition of Sadie Sink and Dacre Montgomery.
The first season focuses on the disappearance of a young boy, and the appearance of a telekinetic girl. Telekinetic means to have the supposed inducement of movement of an object by mental or spiritual power, as seen in many fiction shows and movies.
This little girl, named Eleven, El for short, helps the boys’ friends in their search for Will, the disappeared one. Throughout the series, the boy’s mother, older brother and the town police chief start their own investigations to find the main cause of the boy’s disappearance.
The twist of humor, horror and mystery sets the show apart from the majority of the popular Netflix Originals. It’s impossible to peel your eyes off the screen as the makers of the show create nostalgic, heartwarming moments, along with terrifying, heart-racing scenes in the same episode.
According to Imdb, the series is rated a 9.0/10 stars, and is set in the 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. This show serves initially as a homage to the 1980’s pop culture, and aesthetically inspired by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Stephen King, Robert Zemeckis and George Lucas, among others.
Forbes recognized the series as one with a beginning, middle and an end. The makers of “Stranger Things” knew exactly how long they wanted to make the series, and they did it with purpose. The story is told in a clear way, and there are many mysteries in the underlying message of the story the series is trying to tell, and that message is up to interpretation to keep viewers interested and engaged.
“Stranger Things” was released on Netflix on July 15, 2016. It received immense support and fascination of its “characterization, pacing, atmosphere, acting, soundtrack, directing, writing, and homages to 1980s genre films” according to Imdb. On Aug. 31, 2016, Netflix claimed they were renewing the series for a second season of nine episodes. These nine episodes will be released in 2017.