The production behind Netflix’s “Stranger Things” has always been notoriously secretive. But in a new interview series, creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer shared some tidbits. Several cast and crew members joined them, reflecting on the series as it enters its 5th and final season.
And if ending the hit series on a high note wasn’t enough pressure, the Duffer brothers will also be leaving their long-term partnership with Netflix for a deal at Paramount.
Season 5
Launched in 2016, “Stranger Things” was a huge gamble, being an original IP based around kids but intended for adult audiences. Not to mention the fact that streaming was still considered by many not to be a stable means of entertainment. Luckily, the risk paid off, and the show created the template for how Netflix develops its original content.
This cultural phenomenon launched the careers of Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Sadie Sink, Joseph Quinn, and David Harbour. While simultaneously making 80s icons Winona Ryder, Paul Reiser, and Sean Astin household names again.
“We are more confident and knowledgeable than we were back then,” Matt told Variety about the beginning of the show vs now. “But there’s all these other added pressures now. It feels like there’s the Eye of Sauron on you, a lot of people watching, lots of expectations. A lot of money is being spent.”
Television is certainly littered with examples of disappointing endings to massively successful shows like “Lost” and “Game of Thrones.” “They have had their hearts broken by shows that they loved that failed fans in the end,” says Shawn Levy, executive producer. “They did not want, and do not want, and refuse to be one of those shows.”
Because of these concerns, the Duffers have had an endgame in mind since day one. A herculean task considering they will need to wrap up multiple plot lines and draw satisfying conclusions for 21 different characters.
“We do every last remaining thing we wanted to do with the Demogorgons and Mind Flayer and Vecna and the Upside Down and Hawkins and these characters,” Matt said about the final season. “This is a complete story. It’s done.”
“When we finish a season, there’s always the safety net of ‘Oh, we get to go back to these characters,’” adds Ross. “That is going to be the hardest thing to adjust to, when it’s January 1 and it’s like, ‘Oh, we don’t have that!’”
The Duffers and Netflix’s chief creative officer, Bela Bajaria, are remaining mum about the budget. However, a Puck report indicates it could be between $50 million and $60 million per episode. (On the low end, that’s the same budget as Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu“).
“It feels like a lightning-in-a-bottle situation,” Matt explains. “Which freaks us out, because it’s like, ‘Well, can we do that again?’”
The Cast Reflects
When the Duffer brothers originally started casting for the youth-centered show, they wanted unique kids. When they decided to cast Matarazzo, this meant writing in his medical condition.
“I wasn’t shy talking about it,” said Matarazzo, now 23. “But they asked specifically. They said they’d cast the kids in the show because of their differences, and not in spite of them. It was more them prioritizing how comfortable I was going to be that really stuck with me — and still does.”
Maya Hawke joined the series in its 3rd season and noticed that her character, Robin, had evolved along with her personality. “Robin isn’t me — but I think she’s how Matt and Ross see me,” she explains. “I was always like, ‘Why is she always saying that she puts her foot in her mouth all the time?’ They’re like, ‘Because you do that!’ And I’m like, ‘No, I don’t! I’m 100% elegant, 100% of the time.’ And they’re like, ‘Uh-huh.’”
As you can imagine, the cast literally growing up on set together over these past 9 years has formed incredible bonds. “We do speak a certain language with each other,” says Wolfhard. “I don’t talk to anyone the same way that I talk to them.”
“Even when stuff is going on in our personal lives, I never feel scared or judged by them, which is really comforting,” said Schnapp. “Once you get to set, they just greet you with a smile and bring you right into what you need to be doing.”
“Everything’s on them,” says McLaughlin. “The actors, the producers, the PAs, ADs — everyone’s ‘Matt, Ross, do this, do that!’ Like, I’ve never seen them break. They’ve kept their composure for so long. They’ve been great role models in that way — as men, as creators — to be patient with your work.”
“Apart from their talent and their intelligence, they work really hard,” Harbour says of the Duffers. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen any two human beings work harder than they do, sometimes to the point where you want to go, like, ‘Other people can do things for you.’”
The Duffers Move To Paramount
Despite the undeniable success of “Stranger Things,” the brothers have their hearts set on the big screen.
“Part of me regrets not having been able to tell more different stories over the course of 10 years,” Matt explains. “Sometimes I wonder about that — because it ate up our entire 30s. I wish we had gotten it done a little faster, but it is what it is.”
“But when we started, it was very early Netflix,” Ross adds. “And I don’t know how many more opportunities there are going to be to tell stories of this length on that size canvas. So whenever I have the regrets that Matt was saying, I’m excited that we were able to take advantage of this very specific period of time in the industry.”
“To go this long was our choice,” Matt chimes in. “We could have jumped ship and done movies, and we elected not to — and I’m glad we didn’t. We finished telling this story, and luckily we weren’t too old when we started it, so we’re OK. I mean, Ridley Scott didn’t start making movies until he was in his 40s.”
On August 9th, Skydance Media’s deal to buy Paramount Global closed. Soon after, Cindy Holland, Paramount’s new head of direct-to-consumer content and former head of original content for Netflix, reached out. By August 19th, it was official: the Duffers were leaving Netflix for Paramount.
The duo maintain that they were not looking to leave Netflix, and that money (which we are sure was VERY generous) was not the main motivator. It was because they wanted to make feature films now and did not see a future for that at Netflix. Keep in mind that the entire time the Duffer brothers have been at the streamer, it has never done a theatrical release.
This deal was getting signed around the time that “K Pop Demon Hunters” got a wildly successful theatrical release. This gave a glimmer of hope that some of “Stranger Things” season 5 would be given the same treatment. But alas, Netflix will not budge on the series sticking to the small screen.
“A lot of people — a lot, a lot, a lot of people — have watched ‘Stranger Things’ on Netflix,” says Bajaria. “It has not suffered from lack of conversation or community or sharing or fandom. I think releasing it on Netflix is giving the fans what they want.”
But the Duffers care more about relationships and experiences. “Even though I have a great projector in my house, I still take my 4-year-old to the theater,” Matt says. “We get her a giant Icee and giant popcorn. It’s just something that we’ve always wanted to do. We’ve never had that experience.”
“We’re going to turn 42 soon,” he continues. “I was like, ‘If we’re going to do a movie for the theaters, let’s go!’”
While Netflix gave the twins some creative freedom, Paramount is offering even more. “We’re used to having creative freedom to do what we want to do and what we want to tell,” Ross says. “Paramount’s 100% behind it.”
“It all comes down to relationships,” Matt adds.
When asked about what the deal entails, he said, “I don’t want to get into the specifics of it. But I will say the biggest draw to us was just to be able to do something theatrical, which is not something Netflix does.”
“People don’t get to experience how much time and effort is spent on sound and picture, and they’re seeing it at reduced quality,” he laments. “More than that, it’s about experiencing it at the same time with fans.”
New IPs?
Paramount also houses several interesting IPs like “Star Trek,” “Transformers,” and “Call of Duty.” You would think it’d be a perfect fit for the creators of the nostalgia-washed show, but they would like to stick to their own ideas. “I think everyone knows there’s not enough original stuff out there right now. Everything is so IP-driven,” Ross says.
Unfortunately, there are no specifics on what those ideas might be, but not because they are keeping it a secret. No, the Duffers contend that they don’t even know what’s on the horizon. “I couldn’t think about it anymore, because we’re just back in working on ‘Stranger Things,’” Matt says. “I’ve actually stopped thinking about the future entirely.”
“And we’ve spent 10 years on this,” Ross adds. “We’re trying to put 100% energy in just making sure we land this plane. So no thought is going elsewhere at the moment.”
“At all,” Matt says, pausing, then adds: “Hopefully Paramount doesn’t read this.”
“Stranger Things” season 5 volume 1 will hit Netflix on November 26th, 2025. Volume 2 hits December 25th, 2025. And The Finale releases on December 31st, 2025. All parts will hit the streaming service at 5 P.M. (Pacific).
