The creators of the mystery series “Stranger Things” apparently brought the Netflix bosses to tears with the presentation of the last season. “We made our executives cry, which I took as a good sign,” director Matt Duffer said at an event in Los Angeles, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He and his brother Ross introduced season five at a two-hour meeting. “The only other times I’ve seen her cry was at budget meetings,” he said.
“Those were different tears,” added executive producer Shawn Levy (54). “As a witness and after being in that two-hour pitch room and reading that first script, I’m paralyzed with fear that I’m going to spoil anything,” Levy said. The 54-year-old particularly praised the focus on the characters of the series. It is already clear that the fifth season will take care of their stories. “Because that’s always been the lifeblood of Stranger Things.”
“We submitted the first script a few weeks ago and are now on the second. It’s moving forward at full steam,” said Matt’s brother Ross Duffer. “I remember in season one we were just amazed that Netflix even let us do that, but in season two we worked with the writers to develop an overall plan and backstory for all of this to make sure that with where Upside Down everything is as it is.”
A big part of that plan started to be revealed in season four. “But we still have a long way to go. But just as importantly as the supernatural, we have so many characters now – most are still alive – and it’s important to wrap up those storylines. A lot of those characters have changed since the first season evolved, so giving them time to complete their character arcs while also tying up loose ends and making our final reveals is a balancing act,” said Ross Duffer.
They see season five as “a culmination of all seasons,” he explained. You have a little bit of each other. Before that, each season had a clear imprint. The third was her “big summer blockbuster season with our big monster”, the fourth was characterized by “psychological horror”. They now want to return to the tone of the first season, but build on the scope of season four. “Hopefully it has a bit of everything,” says the director.
