Since 2016, Netflix’s “Stranger Things” has become one of those shows everyone either loves or hasn’t watched yet. It nailed the 80s nostalgia thing better than almost anything before or since—Spielberg vibes, Stephen King atmosphere, the whole package. But there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface than most people realize. Here’s the stuff even the obsessives might have missed.
Creating Hawkins
Matt and Ross Duffer wrote the pilot in 2015 after years making indie films. They grew up in rural North Carolina with heavy doses of Spielberg, Carpenter, and King—and it shows. Netflix picked up the series straight to a full season order, which is pretty rare.
The amount of emotions put in Season 1 can never be replicated by just budget
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Here’s what gets me: Hawkins, Indiana isn’t real. It’s filmed entirely in and around Atlanta, Georgia. The tax incentives didn’t hurt, but the real reason was practical—Georgia offered the mix of locations and soundstage space they needed. The school scenes and downtown areas were built from scratch on stages, which gave the production team total control over making everything look authentically 80s.
The Casting Stuff
Finding Eleven was a months-long hunt across both coasts. Millie Bobby Brown got the part after some London work and a U.S. commercials audition. The chemistry read with Finn Wolfhard was apparently so good that the casting people knew right away.
Millie Bobby Brown on the body count in the final season of #StrangerThings:
“I think the Duffer Brothers did a brilliant job, and my opinions changed throughout the whole year of filming. They went back and forth, so for me, everything I said in the past… I kept going back… pic.twitter.com/RBcDTv0dSI
— Stranger Things Spoilers (@SThingsSpoilers) April 2, 2025
Gaten Matarazzo auditioned with an original song he wrote himself for Dustin. He’s talked openly about having cleidocranial dysplasia—a rare genetic condition—and the show incorporated it into Dustin’s character rather than ignoring it. That’s actually rare in Hollywood.
Noah Schnapp originally auditioned for Will. His brother Jack ended up playing a younger version of Lonnie Byers in Season 3. If you didn’t catch that, you’re not alone—most people missed it.
Details You Might Have Missed
The Christmas lights Joyce uses to talk to Will? They spell actual words in American Sign Language. The show consulted with ASL experts to get it right.
Stranger things detail you didn't noticed in season 5.
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The D&D game in the Wheelers’ basement uses real 1980s rules and an actual rulebook from that era. The writers brought in D&D nerds to make sure it felt authentic.
In Season 4, that painting of a crying clown in Vecna’s lair? It was in Will’s childhood home in Season 1. If you caught that on your first watch, respect. The creepy choir music in Volume 1 was recorded by a real children’s choir, and fans decoded backward messages in there too.
How They Made It
The Demogorgon was mostly practical—a makeup artist spent hours on actor Mark Steger each day. They based its movement on predatory animals but gave it human-like intelligence. The result is genuinely unsettling.
My favorite Stranger Things moments / scenes – Part 1 of 3
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The Duffer Brothers also went heavy on practical smoke and atmospheric effects for the Upside Down instead of just fixing everything in post. That meant actors worked in cold, limited visibility—tough conditions, but it paid off visually.
Season 4 got hit hard by COVID. Extended filming schedules and strict protocols made everything take way longer than usual.
Character Stuff
Early drafts of Hopper were more comedic. David Harbour shifted him toward the gruff, morally complicated cop we know. He drew some inspiration from his own dad, who was a police chief in a small Massachusetts town.
Robin and Steve’s relationship surprised the writers. Maya Hawke had real input on Robin’s LGBTQ+ identity and that coming-out scene in Season 3. And that moment where Robin confesses her crush on Tammy Thompson? Partially improvised.
Winona Ryder brought some of her own experience as a mother to those desperate-searching-for-Will scenes. Some of that was improvised, and the Duffer Brothers kept it in.
The Music
Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein built that iconic synth theme—four notes you can’t get out of your head. They drew from Tangerine Dream, Carpenter, and Vangelis. The goal was mystery and nostalgia with a modern edge.
Beyond the score, the needle drops anchor each season in its time. Can You Feel It by The Jacksons in Season 3 was a deliberate summer-blockbuster-85 choice. The Smiths and Cure reflected what the teenage characters would actually be listening to.
What It All Means
The show changed streaming TV. It proved child actors could carry a major series, that serialized storytelling with real production quality could work, and that nostalgia done right makes for appointment television.
The merch situation got out of control—the Hawkins sign in Georgia became a tourist attraction so popular they had to move it.
Wrapping Up
“Stranger Things” isn’t perfect—no show is. But the attention to detail is genuine. These aren’t just Easter eggs for their own sake; they’re evidence that people cared about making something good. Whether the final season lands or not, what they’ve built here is worth appreciating.
FAQ
Where was Stranger Things filmed? Most of it was shot in the Atlanta area. Various Georgia locations stood in for Hawkins, including the Byers’ house and school sets. Downtown was built on soundstages.
How was the Demogorgon created? Mostly practical prosthetics on actor Mark Steger. The design mixed botanical and human anatomy, with CGI enhancement for the final look.
Is Stranger Things based on a true story? Not directly. It pulls from real government experiments (MKUltra specifically) and draws heavily from 80s films and Stephen King novels, but it’s original fiction.
How many seasons are there? Four so far. A fifth and final season is in production.
What does the Upside Down represent? The Duffer Brothers describe it as frozen in time—specifically stuck in its 1983 state when Will first found it. It’s a physical threat but also a metaphor for personal and institutional darkness.
Are the kid actors still friends? Yeah, they actually are. Millie, Finn, Gaten, Caleb, and Noah have been public about staying close since casting in 2015.
