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EXCLUSIVE: After the record-breaking release of the last two episodes of stranger thingsIn Season 4, creators Matt & Ross Duffer have formed Upside Down Pictures and have returned to Netflix with several new projects. To run Upside Down, they’ve hired Hilary Leavitt, a BBC America and MRC vet who most recently ran her own Hulu-based Blazer banner. Some of the series she helped develop include Orphan Black, Ozark, The Great and Luminous girls.
Netflix
In keeping with the company name of their Juggernaut series, The Duffers will continue to lean towards the formula that has been a driving force stranger things. The brothers said the new company will be guided by the goal of creating the kind of stories that inspired them growing up, “stories that take place at that beautiful crossroads, where the ordinary meets the extraordinary, where great spectacle coexists with intimate character work where heart triumphs over cynicism.”
While their first task is to settle the epic good versus evil battle between Eleven and Vecna stranger thingsLast season, the Duffers and Netflix expanded their list of future projects. These now include:
- A new live-action series adaptation of death notice, the Japanese manga and anime series originally written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The original focuses on a bright-eyed teenager who discovers a mysterious black notebook that grants him supernatural powers over life and death, the latter caused by writing a person’s name in the book. The teenager becomes intoxicated with power when he decides to rid the world of unwanted people while a police team tries to stop him. Netflix made a film adaptation in 2017, but that will be a whole new take.
- An original series from creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance).
- A serial adaptation of the 1984 novel by Stephen King and Peter Straub The talisman which the Duffers will be producing with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and Paramount Television. Created by stranger things‘ Co-EP and writer Curtis Gwinn, The talisman tells the story of a young man who travels between New Hampshire and an alternate world called “The Territories” in order to obtain an artifact that will save his mother’s life. While The talisman imparts otherworldly qualities stranger things, “It’s a lot more fantasy. It’s science fiction. It has horror elements. It has a lot of heart. It has everything we love. And it has the best werewolf character of all time, in my opinion,” Matt Duffer said in yesterday’s in-depth interview with Deadline.
- A new stage play in the world and mythology of stranger things, produced by prolific British stage producer Sonia Friedman, Stephen Daldry and Netflix. Daldry, whose credits include The Crown, Billy Elliot and The reader, will also direct. 21 Laps will serve as associate producer.
- The aforementioned live action stranger things Netflix spin-off series based on an original idea by The Duffer Brothers, produced by Upside Down and 21 Laps.
All of this comes after stranger things 4 topped Netflix’s all-time favorite English TV list with 1.15 billion hours watched in the first 28 days, becoming only the second series to break the billion mark for the streamer. This number will be higher if the two season-ending episodes of Volume 2 are counted as they reach the 28-day viewing period. Season 4 became the biggest premiere weekend ever for an English-language TV show on Netflix with 286.79 million hours watched. It also peaked at the top spot in 91 countries for the streamer and became Netflix’s most-watched season of English-language television in a single week with 335.01 million hours viewed.
Lindsey Thong
Right now, the Duffers are taking a few weeks off before they start writing the final season of stranger things in August. They told Deadline that a key goal is to “stick through” the landing in the last 20 minutes that they’ve already planned. It got Netflix executives’ tears in their eyes as the duo presented the final season. The Duffers came out of nowhere when they arrived at Netflix — they landed a Warner Bros deal for their horror film pitch right out of college Hidden and made her directorial debut and then were writers/EPs for the TV show M. Night Shyamalan Wayward pines – so it seems like a strong move for the streamer not to let them get away after such a stellar success.
“Matt and Ross are exceptionally unique talents with such sharp and clear vision,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer. “They’re all about the details – it’s no coincidence stranger things pierced the zeitgeist to become the epic pop culture phenomenon it is today. We look forward to continuing to tell new stories with them as they grow Upside Down Pictures and to welcoming Hilary as a creative partner.”
The Duffers tasked Leavitt with handling all of this volume of development while they focus on completing the series.
“It wasn’t long before we first met Hilary where we bonded over movies like pine, home alone, and speed, knowing we’ve found a kindred spirit,” the Duffers said in a statement. “Hilary’s passion for storytelling is perhaps matched only by her passion for the storytellers themselves, which she is fiercely protective of. No wonder so many writers and directors are drawn to work with her. She is indeed a rare talent and we are very grateful to have her with us as we build Upside Down Pictures.”
Leavitt said: “I remember the first movie I saw in the cinema, the first VHS tape I got for Christmas, the first international single sheet, which I bid on eBay because it was cooler than the domestic. And the first time I met Matt and Ross. All of those groundbreaking moments led to this ridiculously cool opportunity to build a company with the Duffer Brothers where we make movies and TV because we love movies and TV. That love is at the core of Upside Down Pictures, where we are able to collaborate with other artists on projects across the spectrum of genres. We all love what we do and look forward to doing more and more.”
The Duffer Brothers are represented by CAA and Yorn Levine’s Alex Kohner.
