15 Pop Culture Facts About 'Stranger Things'
The final season of Stranger Things arrives on Netflix on November 26. Well, not the entire season. The first four episodes of Season Five will be released, then they’re dropping the next three episodes on Christmas, and the finale will play in theaters on New Year’s Eve. While I dig the idea of seeing the finale on the big screen, I hate it when TV shows break up a season like this.
Despite the annoyingly prolonged release schedule, I am excited to see where the show ends, so I compiled these 15 bits of trivia about the series.
Children of the 1980s
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Stranger Things was created by identical twin brothers Matt and Ross Duffer. They were born February 15, 1984, and grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, which is why Stranger Things is steeped in 1980s nostalgia.
The Duffer Directors
The Duffer brothers explained that one of the main reasons why Stranger Things ended up at Netflix was because other outlets did not want them to direct the series, whereas Netflix embraced the idea. The brothers directed the first episode and ultimately six of Season One’s eight episodes, setting the show’s visual style.
The look of the series was inspired by 1980s blockbusters, with the Duffers specifically citing Stand By Me and E.T. for the show’s color palette and visual style.
That’s a Lot of Kids
The Duffer brothers watched nearly 1,000 audition tapes to find the main child stars of Stranger Things.
Finn’s Flu
Finn Wolfhard was sick in bed for his audition tape, yet the Duffers knew he was perfect for Mike Wheeler.
A Prominent Fan
While author Stephen King clearly inspired some of the sensibilities of Stranger Things, King was also an early fan of the show. After the first season dropped, King said “Stranger Things is pure fun. A+. Don’t miss it. Winona Ryder shines.”
Justice for Barb
In a 2025 interview, the Duffer Brothers explained that they killed Barb (Shannon Purser) in Season One because they wanted Nancy (Natalia Dyer) to “have some real, direct connection to the supernatural goings on.” Originally, Barb was going to die in the pilot, but they moved it to Episode Three.
Ghostbusters!
Season Two of Stranger Things was set around Halloween, because entering production for Season Two, it was clear that the Duffer Brothers would be unable to hit a summer premiere date.
Justice for Bob
“Bob was interesting because he was always designed and created to die,” said Ross Duffer of Bob Newby, Sean Astin’s character in Season Two. Ross Duffer admitted that at first, Bob “wasn’t, actually, much of a character. The initial idea was that Joyce has kind of a loser, obnoxious boyfriend who is going to get killed.” However, when Sean Astin auditioned for the part, the character changed. “We found him so endearing and engaging that we changed the Bob character to match Sean Astin,” said Ross Duffer.
Bob’s Alternate Death
Originally, Bob was supposed to die in Episode Three of Season Two, but the Duffers delayed his death until Episode Eight because they liked the character so much. Additionally, he was going to be killed by a possessed Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), but that changed because the Duffers feared that nobody would like Will after he killed Bob.
Justice for Billy?
Dacre Montgomery’s casting as Billy led to some significant changes to the character. As Matt Duffer explained, Montgomery “pushed us to go ‘Billy’s not just a mean guy, talk to me about his backstory and his dad.’” Through that process, Billy received a more meaningful arc. “Even though he’s never redeemed like Steve — he never becomes a good guy — we know that, deep down, there is this goodness in Billy, which is really what led to Billy ultimately saving Eleven at the end of Season Three,” said Matt Duffer.
To Shave or Not to Shave
Millie Bobby Brown shaved her head for the role of Eleven in Season One of Stranger Things, but when Eleven’s hair was shaved for Season Four, the actor wore a short-haired wig instead.
The Hardest Character to Cast
Ross Duffer said that the most difficult character to cast in the history of Stranger Things was Eddie Munson, played by Joseph Quinn. “There was a version of Eddie that was going to be annoying and grating and wasn’t going to work, so we needed to find someone with a lot of charisma. It was the hardest casting, maybe, we’ve ever done in the show, was finding Eddie. And, for a while, we didn’t think we were going to be able to find him and then we saw Quinn’s tape.”
Justice for Eddie
The Duffers explained that Eddie was always destined to die in the series. But, thanks to Quinn’s portrayal, they hesitated when the time came and considered keeping him. Ultimately, they decided to kill him off as it was important to the arc of Gaten Matarazzo’s character, Dustin Henderson.
The Ending is a Long Time Coming
According to Matt Duffer in a new interview for Season Five, he and his brother came up with the final scene for the series seven years ago.