Line #139 Trivia/StrangerThings


1	!![[Series/StrangerThings The series]]
2	* AbilityOverAppearance: A minor example. Creator/SadieSink was initially turned down for Max, as they felt she was too old for the character (she was fourteen and Max is supposed to be twelve). She however lobbied for a chance to test her chemistry alongside Creator/FinnWolfhard, Creator/CalebMcLaughlin and Creator/GatenMatarazzo, and won the part.
3	* ActingForTwo: By technicality; in Season 3, Creator/DacreMontgomery plays both Billy and [[spoiler:the Mind Flayer speaking through Billy's body]]. In Season 4 he also plays [[spoiler:Vecna, or at least an illusion Vecna creates to torment Max.]]
4	* ActingInTheDark:
5	** The cast members were given the scripts episode by episode, and had little idea about the fate of their characters.
6	** Creator/DavidHarbour claims to have not been told [[spoiler:whether Hopper survived Season 3 and is the "American" referred to in TheStinger]], though there's a lot of speculation that he's just taking the piss with the fans. [[spoiler:The Duffer Brothers would later comment, after Season 4’s first part released, that Harbour was in the know and had initially suggested shooting Hopper’s survival during production of the previous season.]]
7	** Creator/LindaHamilton stated that she was "given the shape" of the character she plays in Season 5, but she was not allowed to learn how the show ends.
8	* ActorInspiredElement:
9	** Creator/MatthewModine had a big hand in shaping Dr. Brenner into the character audiences would become familiar with. After he accepted the role, Modine chose to dye his hair white to reference the BigBad characters that are prevalent in anime works, and made Brenner's business suit part of the character's wardrobe as a homage to ''Film/NorthByNorthwest''. He also insisted on giving Brenner's more expository dialogue to other characters so that his still and quiet personality would be more intriguing for viewers.
10	** In Season 4, Lucas sports a number eight jersey on the basketball team, a nod to Kobe Bryant's first jersey number in the NBA. Creator/CalebMcLaughlin chose the number himself as a tribute to the late basketball star.
11	** According to Creator/MayaHawke, Robin's MotorMouth tendencies came about due to the Duffers noticing how fast she would talk when she got nervous (in her words, like "[[Series/{{Friends}} Phoebe Buffay]] on Adderall.") This led to them giving her pages of expository dialogue because they knew how quickly she would breeze through it.
12	* ActorInspiredHeroism:
13	** [[BigManOnCampus Steve Harrington]] was originally envisioned as a stereotypical eighties JerkJock and RomanticFalseLead for Nancy who would die at the end of the season. However, the creators found Creator/JoeKeery to be so likable and charming, the character was rewritten as a more complicated individual, with his initial jerkish actions in the show are the result of ToxicFriendInfluence and insecurity. This led to Steve gaining a major HeelRealization towards the end of the season, developing into a more decent individual (as well as Nancy not actually breaking up with him until the next season when it's solely down to personal differences). He likewise went through a lot of CharacterDevelopment during Seasons 2 and 3, causing him to develop into a big brother figure towards the kids and become both one of the show's heroes.
14	** [[JerkJock Billy Hargrove]] was initially created to act as a replacement jerk for Steve, only much more violent and cruel. His role being the minor but more relatable human antagonist of the season. However, Creator/DacreMontgomery convinced the writers to explore what made Billy that way. This developed into giving Billy [[AbusiveParents a horrifically abusive father]] and [[DarkAndTroubledPast a tragic past of being taken away from his loving mother at a young age]]. Leading to Billy spending most of Season 3 [[spoiler:as the victim of [[EldritchAbomination the Mind Flayer]], gaining him some sympathy and even him [[DeathEqualsRedemption getting a genuinely heroic death of holding the thing back from killing El]]]].
15	** Eddie Munson was envisioned as more unapproachable, with a rivalrous relationship with Steve. After Creator/JosephQuinn's casting of the character, the character took on a more likable, brotherly turn, making his ostracization and scapegoating by the town all the more tragic.
16	** Similarly, Chrissy was apparently intended to be a more stereotypical Cheerleader, an AlphaBitch with HiddenDepths. However, Creator/GraceVanDien played her as a troubled sweetheart instead, which both won her the part and made her character's death more tragic. Likewise, Eddie and Chrissy's chemistry, backstory together, and mutual attraction was largely born from Quinn and Van Dien's improvisation and chemistry during filming.
17	* ActorSharedBackground:
18	** All the pictures of Barb in the Season 2 premiere are actually from Creator/ShannonPurser's childhood.
19	** Creator/GraceVanDien, like her character, grew up with an abusive mother and struggled with an eating disorder.
20	** Creator/MayaHawke, like Robin, [[https://youtu.be/tGKDR8YN8XA?t=63 actually didn't have a license]] when they filmed Season 4. She got her learner's permit three years later in 2023.
21	* ApprovalOfGod:
22	** Music/KateBush put out a rare public statement on the use of her song "Running Up the Hill" in Season 4, expressing her delight of a new generation of fans getting to experience it and the song's subsequent charting worldwide. She's also a fan of the show, which is why she allowed them to use it in the first place.
23	** Music/{{Metallica}} [[https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cfom8d8twqG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link had nothing but praise]] for the way their song "Master of Puppets" was used in the Season 4 finale. Not only did they commend the incorporation of music in the show in general and called it "an incredible honor" to be selected alongside other great artists, in a pivotal scene no less, they also stated that their high expectations got exceeded by the final result, calling it "extremely well done". Additionally they singled out their die-hard fans who were able to guess the song based on trailer snippets of the player's hands before the episode even came out. The band has since fully embraced the hype, they e.g. posted a video of them playing the song while wearing Hellfire Club t-shirts, integrated the eponymous scene as a backdrop into their live performances and even welcomed Eddie's actor, Creator/JosephQuinn, backstage to their Lollapalooza gig.
24	** Music/IronMaiden responded positively to the [[MemeticMutation memetic]] scene of Eddie yelling "THIS IS MUSIC!" holding a cassette record of their album ''Piece of Mind'', stating "We're with you, Eddie!"[[note]]"Eddie" also happens to be the name of the mascot pictured on the cover[[/note]].
25	* AuthorsSavingThrow: In the midst of growing complaints about how OutOfFocus Will Byers had become ever since the third season, Ross Duffer confirmed in an [[https://www.gamesradar.com/stranger-things-season-5-will-emotional-arc/ interview with Variety]] that Season 5 is set to majorly focus on him and tie together the series finale.
26	* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/SadieSink outright begged for the role of Max Mayfield, despite initially being rejected for looking too old for the part. She ultimately got cast much to her delight.
27	* BillingDisplacement: Creator/CaraBuono is credited as a main cast member despite Karen Wheeler being at most a secondary character. Made more noticeable by her getting an individual credit when all the far more prominent younger actors are billed in pairs, though they are at least all placed ahead of her. By Season 4, Buono was taken out of the opening credits and instead put in "Also Starring" for the episodes in which she's featured. And even then this billing still falls into the trope, as she's grouped up with three actors who are season regulars in contrast to her minor part.
28	* CaliforniaDoubling:
29	** Jackson, Georgia, a small town between Atlanta and Macon, stands in for Hawkins, Indiana. The gorge that [[spoiler:Troy forces Mike to jump in]] is the same gorge that appears in the first season of ''Series/{{The Walking Dead\|2010}}'', which was also filmed in the Atlanta area. To the production team's credit, they ''do'' manage to make the town look remarkably Midwestern.
30	** Portions of the largely vacant Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, Georgia stand in for the Starcourt Mall. Incidentally, Gwinnett Place actually opened in 1984.
31	** Vilnius, Lithuania stands in for Russia in Season 4.
32	* TheCameo: Creator/MayaHawke's brother Levon plays a video store customer in a Season 4 episode.
33	* CareerResurrection: For Creator/WinonaRyder. After taking a few years off from acting while she was on probation for [[NeverLiveItDown shoplifting from Saks Fifth Avenue]], she starred in a film rendition of Creator/PhilipKDick's ''Literature/AScannerDarkly'', which was critically acclaimed. From there, she would manage to pop up in acclaimed independent projects (''Film/BlackSwan'', ''Experimenter'', ''Series/ShowMeAHero'') and occasionally have small parts in more high-budget features (''[[Film/StarTrek2009 Star Trek]]'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Frankenweenie}}''). However, her comeback really seemed to take hold in a higher profile when she accepted the role of single mother Joyce Byers in ''Stranger Things'', earning much press and support upon the show's release and even earning nominations for a Golden Globe and a SAG.
34	* CashCowFranchise: One of Netflix's signature franchises and most watched series, hence it spawned tie-in novels, comics and video games.
35	* CastTheExpert: When performing "Master of Puppets" in the Season 4 finale, Creator/JosephQuinn's hands were partially doubled by Tye Trujillo, who, being the son of Music/{{Metallica}} bassist Robert Trujillo, had the chance to be tutored for the part by Kirk Hammett himself.
36	* CastTheRunnerUp:
37	** According to an interview of LA Times, Creator/NoahSchnapp originally auditioned for Mike Wheeler.
38	** Creator/JoeKeery originally auditioned to be Jonathan Byers before being cast as Steve Harrington.
39	** Francesca Reale (Heather) originally auditioned to play Robin before the role went to Creator/MayaHawke instead.
40	* TheCastShowoff:
41	** The final episode of Season 3 has Creator/GatenMatarazzo show off his singing voice. Ironically, while he does sing professionally in musical theatre, he's not as well-known for it like fellow cast members Creator/JoeKeery (who performs as both Djo and plays guitar in Post Animal) or Creator/FinnWolfhard (who is the lead singer and guitarist for Calpurnia).
42	** Creator/JosephQuinn (Eddie Munson) is a skilled guitarist and gets to show it off when he performs "[[Music/{{Metallica}} Master of Puppets]]" in the Season 4 finale.
43	* CelebrityParadox: Defied. WordOfGod is that the series will never cover past the year 1988, as that was the year of Winona Ryder's StarMakingRole in ''{{Film/Beetlejuice}}''; calling it "the threshold we can't cross." However, in Season 4 Creator/RobertEnglund plays a small part and yet it's shown that the ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' films still exist, even getting referenced by the characters. A Freddy Krueger standee is even visible in a scene set in a video store.
44	* CostumeBacklash: Noah Schnapp has not been quiet about how much he hates Will's bowl cut, and has tried to appeal to the Duffer Brothers to get them to change his hairstyle.
45	* CreatorBacklash:
46	** After filming Season 4, both Noah Schnapp and Millie Bobby Brown expressed frustration with the series' reluctance to kill off major characters, with the latter even daring the Duffers to kill off Eleven.
47	** In the same season, the Duffer Brothers admitted that they regretted killing Chrissy off as the PlotTriggeringDeath of Season 4, and agreed with the audience's sentiment about the [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter waste of her character]]. Grace Van Dien and Joseph Quinn thought the same thing.
48	** Though Creator/MatthewModine enjoys playing Dr. Brenner, he admitted that having to act out some of the character's crueler moments (particularly the ColdBloodedTorture of Two) made him "sick to his stomach" at times.
49	** Creator/MayaHawke has "[[https://ew.com/tv/maya-hawke-has-mixed-feelings-about-her-stranger-things-character-getting-a-girlfriend/ mixed feelings]]" about the Robin/Vickie relationship, saying that, "It's both a great thing, and I also love characters where their love life is not the center of their existence."
50	** Creator/FinnWolfhard has admitted that he didn't have the best of experiences filming Season 4, as he was frustrated with [[FourLinesAllWaiting how spread out all the plot lines and characters were]], making him feel isolated from the rest of the cast.
51	** While Creator/LindaHamilton has had nothing but positive feelings working on the show, she did admit that she felt that she had ruined her own experience watching the show as a fan, as she refuses to watch anything she has ever been in, and wasn't allowed to learn how the finale would wrap up the series.
52	* CreatorsFavorite: Creator/MatthewModine absolutely relishes in portraying Dr. Brenner, and frequently discusses his actions and personality on Twitter.
53	* CrossdressingVoices: The boys are voiced by women in the French dub. Averted with Lucas in Season 2, when Jennifer Fauveau was replaced by Thomas Sagols, and averted entirely as of Season 3, when they were all replaced by male actors.
54	* DawsonCasting:
55	** Done with most of the teen characters to some extent: they're all older than high school age, though in some cases just barely. When Season 1 came out in 2016, Natalia Dyer (Nancy) was 21, Shannon Purser (Barb) was 20, Charlie Heaton (Jonathan) was 22, Chelsea Talmadge (Carol) was 22, and Joe Keery (Steve) was 24. In Season 2, Dacre Montgomery (Billy) also pushes it a bit at 22. An extreme example would be Creator/MattyCardarople, who plays Keith, a high school acquaintance of Nancy, Steve, and Robin despite the actor being in his ''mid-30s''.
56	** During the first few seasons, the younger kids were mostly a year or two older than they should be, though Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) was pretty spot-on at 12 in Season 1 and 13 in Season 2, and Noah Schnapp (Will) was actually ''younger'' than his character during filming of the first two seasons. However, the age gap between the younger actors and their characters has grown as the real-life time between each season has become longer than the in-fiction [[TimeSkip Time Skips]]: InUniverse, only 16-ish months pass between Season 2 and Season 4, but in the real world, it was nearly 5 years. In Season 4, the actors for the 14- to 15-year-old Party members were all 16 to 19 at the time of filming. This is really obvious with Mike, Will, and Lucas, whose actors are far more well-developed than their younger characters would realistically be.
57	** Season 3's new additions pretty much averted this entirely, as the 17-year-old Robin is played by Maya Hawke, who was 19 when cast in the role and turned 20 shortly after Season 3's filming began. Erica's 10 years old, but 11 year old Priah Ferguson certainly doesn't stick out in the role.
58	** Season 4 adds 29-year-old Creator/JosephQuinn as high school senior Eddie, though it's mentioned that Eddie has failed his senior year at least twice already and thus is likely in his early twenties.
59	** Mason Dye is also in his late twenties playing high school senior Jason Carver. Tellingly, nearly ten years previously, he had played a preteen in the ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'' movie at age ''19''.
60	** It got to the point that the Duffer brothers teased that [[https://www.gamesradar.com/stranger-things-season-5-time-jump-duffer-brothers/ there would likely be a time jump between Seasons 4 and 5,]] to account for the actors' growth spurts.
61	* DearNegativeReader: In response to criticism online surrounding the show's vagueness towards Will's sexuality in Season 4, Noah Schnapp [[https://www.looper.com/918416/noah-schnapps-blunt-response-to-critics-of-wills-stranger-things-4-storyline/ took to Twitter]] to remind viewers that it was uncommon for young gay people to come out publicly in the 1980s due to the stigma surrounding homosexuality at the time.
62	* {{Defictionalization}}:
63	** In the run-up to the release of the third season, Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast collaborated with Netflix on a ''Stranger Things'' themed ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' starter kit which added the Thessalhydra & the show’s version of the Demogorgon to Fifth Edition, and also came packaged with the adventure the boys were playing through in the first episode of the show.
64	** In Starcourt Mall, Steve and Robin work at a store called "Scoops Ahoy", which is clearly an analog for Baskin-Robbins. Thusly, in addition to tie-in ice cream flavors, B-R took a California location [[https://youtu.be/gut2idg6x28 and converted it into a real-life Scoops Ahoy]]; other locations use an older Baskin Robbins logo to fit with the retro 80s theme.
65	** Following the release of the fourth season, you can actually purchase frozen Surfer Boy Pizzas at grocery stores.
66	** Officially-licensed Scoops Ahoy ice cream hit the shelves at Walmart in 2023, with seven unique flavors inspired by the show.
67	* DemandOverload: The release of the final two episodes of Season 4 were in such high demand, despite being released at 3am (Eastern time), that Netflix crashed.
68	* DisabledCharacterDisabledActor:
69	** Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson) lives with cleidocranial dysplasia. The condition was written into his character.
70	** Averted with Aimee Mullins (a double amputee who has given TED talks about prostheses). She plays Terry Ives, who is disabled in a completely different way but (presumably) has both of her natural legs.
71	* DuelingWorks: ''Series/TheOA'', which premiered on Netflix later in the year, has drawn comparisons to ''Stranger Things'' for having a vaguely similar premise involving the supernatural, although anyone who's watched both shows will know that the two are ''very'' different, with ''OA'' championing its own brand of Sundance-film affectations and trippy New-Agey weirdness.
72	* DyeingForYourArt:
73	** Creator/MatthewModine, a natural blonde, chose to dye his hair white when portraying Martin Brenner in this show. According to Modine himself, he wanted to emulate how anime villains often have white hair in Japanese productions.
74	** Creator/MillieBobbyBrown, who plays Eleven, had long hair that had been growing for her entire life. For Season 1, she had it all buzz cut, though only after being shown a picture of Creator/CharlizeTheron as [[Film/MadMaxFuryRoad Furiosa]]. She did ''not'' [[https://www.teenvogue.com/story/millie-bobby-brown-faux-buzzcut-stranger-things-4-sarah-hindsgaul repeat this for Season 4, however]]
75	** Dacre Montgomery was cast having just come off ''Film/PowerRangers2017'', and being in the very toned shape he had to get into. Upon doing some research, he learned that those physiques were not common in the 80s, and so gained weight for a more period accurate size.
76	** For Season 4 [[spoiler: David Harbour lost a lot of weight to reflect Hopper's time in prison, and like Brown, shaved his head (and face) to complete the look of a prisoner.]]
77	** For his performance as Vecna, Creator/JamieCampbellBower went through an eight-hour makeup, latex and prosthetics application process to become the character.
78	* EnforcedMethodActing:
79	** During Steve and Billy's big fight scene, Joe Keery really ''was'' hurt by the breakaway plate due to it landing in an awkward place on his head. The shot ended up being used as he didn't want to do it again.
80	** Millie Bobby Brown was ''terrified'' [[https://youtu.be/n2aXSpp-TXY?t=368 the first time she worked with Jamie Bower in full Vecna makeup]], as she assumed the creature was gonna be CGI. Bower actually had to give her a hug to keep her from crying during rehearsal.
81	** Dr Brenner's tearful SoProudOfYou moment for Eleven and pleading for her to understand that he cares for her has quite a bit of RealitySubtext in it. Creator/MatthewModine and Creator/MillieBobbyBrown had become close friends during the show's production, and Modine was wrestling with his feelings regarding his time on the show ending and never seeing Millie again during the shooting of that scene.
82	** Noah Schnapp admitted that the the military's attack on Mike, Will, Jonathan and Argyle in Season 4 was ''incredibly'' frightening while they were shooting it, as the previous rehearsals did not utilize fake bullet or glass breaking sounds, making Will's panic in the scene quite real when they were actually happening.
83	* FakeAmerican:
84	** Creator/MillieBobbyBrown (Eleven) and Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers) are Brits playing Americans. A lesser case for Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), who is Canadian.
85	** Australian Dacre Montgomery plays American Billy Hargrove.
86	** In Season 3, the British Creator/CaryElwes portrays Larry Kline, the [[PatrioticFervor very American mayor]] of Hawkins.
87	** Season 4 adds British actors Creator/JosephQuinn and Creator/JamieCampbellBower as Eddie Munson and Vecna (AKA [[spoiler:Henry Creel/001]]) respectively. Minor character Vickie (the band member Robin has a crush on) is played by Amybeth [=McNulty=], who's Irish-Canadian. For Quinn, it was his first time portraying an American, and he learned the American accent for the first time.
88	* FakeBrit: Kali Prasad / Eight is a British woman of Indian descent, yet she's played by the Danish Linnea Berthelsen.
89	* FakeRussian:
90	** The Ukrainian-British Alec Utgoff portrays the Soviet Russian Alexei in Season 3.
91	** Enzo, a Russian prison guard, is played by Tom Wlaschiha, who's German.
92	** Likewise, Yuri the smuggler is played by a Serbian actor, who [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent doesn't even try to do a proper accent]] and instead uses his own.
93	** Warden Melnikov, played by Vaidotas Martinaitis, is a Lithuanian (although Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union back in 1986).
94	* FandomLifeCycle: Season 1 created a massive fanbase, and even the more divisive aspects of seasons 2 and 3 didn't prevent it from continuing to grow. Things slowed down in the three year gap, but once season 4 came out ''Stranger Things'' was back into being a phenomenal hit.
95	* FriendshipOnTheSet:
96	** Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp have been best friends since the first season.
97	** Creator/MatthewModine also formed a strong bond with Millie during the first and fourth seasons.
98	** Sadie Sink and Maya Hawke also formed a friendship during the fourth season.
99	** Joseph Quinn and Grace Van Dien likewise became very good friends after their episode together, and have since attended panels together where they're clearly very affectionate.
100	* GodNeverSaidThat: After Season 3 aired, it was widely reported that Robin was originally meant to be Steve's love interest and Maya Hawke was the one who came up with the idea to have her come out as a lesbian instead. In fact, Maya only said that the writers collaborated with her to build Robin's character arc and that the decision to have her come out wasn't finalized until partway through filming, and later [[https://www.gq.com/story/hawke-girl-summer clarified]] that Robin being a lesbian was "100 percent the Duffer Brothers and writers' idea."
101	* InspirationForTheWork: The series was in part inspired by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montauk_Project Montauk Project]], a conspiracy theory which alleged that children were being kept in a government facility in Montauk, New York, and having strange experiments such as time travel performed on them. In fact, the show was known as ''Montauk'' early in development. Dr. Martin Brenner is pretty much a [[https://twitter.com/Yolkswagon/status/1772592765257285814 deadringer]] for one of the Doctors alleged to be behind the Montauk Project.
102	* IronyAsSheIsCast:
103	** Eleven is established as being a lover of waffles in this show, whereas Creator/MillieBobbyBrown can't stand them in real life. When shooting scenes where Eleven is eating Eggos, Brown had to have a bucket next to her so she could spit them out after each take.
104	** Similarly, Max Mayfield is shown to be a talented skateboarder during Season 2, and it comes into play several times over the course of the show. Not only did Creator/SadieSink not know how to skate, but she ended up suffering a hard fall while filming, which caused her to dislike the sport.
105	* KillerApp: The series is one of the most popular shows on Creator/{{Netflix}}. Along with ''Series/HouseOfCardsUS'', ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'' and ''Series/CobraKai'', it's often seen as one of the primary reasons to subscribe to the streaming service.
106	* LyingCreator: The Duffer brothers said that [[spoiler: Hopper was definitively dead after Season 3]]. [[spoiler: David Harbour]] kept up the ruse in interviews on social media, insisting they were not returning to the show. Apparently, enough people figured it out quickly enough that the Duffers [[spoiler:just put him in the first trailer for Season 4.]]
107	* MakingUseOfTheTwin: The character of Holly Wheeler (Mike and Nancy's baby sister) is played by identical twin sisters.
108	* MeaningfulReleaseDate: The second season took place around Halloween and was released on October 27. The third season was released on the Fourth of July and the climactic battle of the season finale was on the same holiday.
109	* MemeAcknowledgement: One of the songs on the score for Season 4 Volume 2 is called "[delicate, intense music playing...]" in reference to the season's [[https://www.vulture.com/2022/07/stranger-things-subtitles-captions-team-interview.html memetic subtitles]].
110	* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals: The Byers' dog was so disruptive during filming that David Harbour demanded they get rid of it. There was actually a grave for it put near the house in Season 3, though it never appeared on camera.
111	* NoExportForYou: The Stranger Things: The Drive-Into Experience had only been in one city as of 2021, Los Angeles.
112	* TheOtherDarrin: Child actress Martie Marie Blair portrayed the younger Eleven (with the help of some CGI to make her face more closely resemble Creator/MillieBobbyBrown) during the Hawkins Laboratory flashback scenes in Season 4, due to Brown having aged far too much to play her as she was in the first season.
113	* PlayingAgainstType:
114	** Immediately after playing lead hero Jason in ''Film/PowerRangers2017'', Dacre Montgomery is the vile JerkJock Billy here. As the former never got a sequel, he's better known as Billy now.
115	** Creator/CaryElwes is primarily known for portraying heroic characters in movies, such as Westley from ''Film/ThePrincessBride''. In Season 3 of this show, he plays Mayor Larry Kline; a sleazy CorruptPolitician who's secretly working with Soviet spies.
116	** In the Japanese dub, and while not the first time voicing such characters before, Eleven is this for her voice actress, Creator/RieKugimiya, a voice actress well-known for either voicing either raging [[{{Tsundere}} tsunderes]], or TheCutie, as well as [[CrossdressingVoices male kids at times]]. [[CreepyChild Eleven]] is quite the opposite to almost everything Kugimiya had voiced before.
117	* PlayingWithCharacterType: Dr. Owens [[spoiler:appears to be doing a riff on Paul Reiser's ruthless company man character Burke from ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', but actually does turn out to be a pretty decent guy. If anything, he inverts Burke - Burke starts out seemingly sympathetic to Ripley but turns out to be a sociopathic monster, while Owens starts off seeming like another Company Man who will throw anyone under the bus, but is horrified at what happens, helps the main characters, and even intends to sacrifice himself at the end so they can escape, though he manages to survive. Both of them even have the same semi-smarmy charm that Paul Reiser does so well, which makes you want to like him while feeling that he's about to do something reprehensible.]]
118	* PromotedFanboy:
119	** Dacre Montgomery was already a fan of the show before being cast as Billy Hargrove in Season 2.
120	** Creator/LindaHamilton followed the show religiously for its first four seasons, before joining the cast in Season 5.
121	* PromotedToOpeningTitles: Joe Keery and Noah Schnapp starting in Season 2, going from recurring to main characters. The same happened to Priah Ferguson in Season 3, and then Brett Gelman in Season 4.
122	* PropRecycling: The sword that Hopper uses to [[spoiler:slay the Soviet Demogorgon]] is [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CfmlUAcOpc5/?hl=en the same one]] that Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger wielded in ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982''.
123	* QueerCharacterQueerActor:
124	** In the promotional podcast ''Rebel Robin: Surviving Hawkins'', Robin's favorite teacher Mr. Hauser (revealed to be gay in the novel) is voiced by Creator/SeanMaher.
125	** On January 5, 2023, Creator/NoahSchnapp came out as gay. Schnapp previously stated that [[WordOfSaintPaul he believed that Will is gay]] and the Duffer Brothers said that Will's sexuality would become a crucial part of his arc in the final season.
126	-->'''Schnapp''': I guess I'm more similar to Will than I thought.
127	** While their identities don't match perfectly, the lesbian Robin is played by Maya Hawke, [[https://www.sdlgbtn.com/maya-hawke-comes-out-as-queer-theres-something-about-the-word-queer-that-feels-really-good-to-me/ who identifies as queer]].
128	** Vickie, Robin's love interest in Season 4, is heavily implied to be bisexual and is played by the openly-bi Amybeth [=McNulty=].
129	* RealLifeRelative: The younger Max seen in a flashback in "E Pluribus Unum" is played by the younger sister of Creator/SadieSink, who plays Max.
130	* RealLifeWritesTheHairstyle: In Season 4, [[spoiler: Hopper has his head shaved while in a Russian prison]]. This was the idea of [[spoiler: David Harbour, who had been cast in ''Film/BlackWidow2021'', also playing a character starting out in a Russian prison]]. Wanting to differentiate the two roles, he suggested [[spoiler: that Hopper be given a TraumaticHaircut and lose his beard]].
131	* TheRedStapler:
132	** Dustin's Science Museum of Minnesota dinosaur hoodie in Season 2 actually ''did'' exist in the period in which the series is set, but had long since ceased production (for one thing, [[ScienceMarchesOn "Brontosaurus" was then an outdated taxon for Apatosaurus, though since 2015 it's been reinstated as valid]]). The hoodie's appearance on the show created quite the stir online, with demand resulting in the museum having a new run produced, with initial online sales crashing their website and people ''lining up out the door'' at the museum itself. Ironically, since the museum no longer had the patterns for the original sweatshirts, they actually borrowed the one used on the show in order to reconstruct them.
133	** Eggos waffles got a boost in sales after the frozen waffles were Eleven's TrademarkFavoriteFood in the series.
134	** As a tie-in to Season 3, Coca-Cola resurrected its infamous "New Coke" formula. [[https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/05/233769/stranger-things-3-new-coke The company's web store crashed several times during the first sales day]] due to the sheer number of people who wanted to buy it and see [[BileFascination why the product was so hated]].
135	* RevivalByCommercialization:
136	** Music/KateBush's epic "[[Music/HoundsOfLove Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)]]" became a chart-topper the week Season 4 dropped - ''thirty-seven years after its release'' - making Bush (at 63 at the time) the oldest female artist to get a number one in the UK Official Singles Chart. In fact, it ended up ''exceeding'' its 1985 chart performance by a massive margin, with number ones in eight countries.
137	** "Master of Puppets" by Music/{{Metallica}} also recharted after being featured in a memorable scene of the Season 4 finale. Spotify reported that it was downloaded 17.5 million times in the week after the episode aired and it quickly hit No. 1 in the US [=iTunes=] rock chart. Not bad for a 36 year old song.
138	* RomanceOnTheSet: Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler) and Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers) began dating in between the filming of Seasons 1 and 2. Nancy and Jonathan's first kiss in Season 2 episode 6 is almost decidedly ''not'' them acting.
139	* ScheduleSlip: The gap between seasons has gotten longer over time. Season 1 was released in July 2016; Season 2 in October 2017, 15 months later; Season 3 in July 2019, 21 months after Season 2; and Season 4 was released in two volumes in May and July of 2022, ''three years'' after Season 3. Though, in fairness, Season 4 was seemingly originally intended for a late 2020 or early 2021 release date[[note]]The show typically releases the first teaser for a season within a year of the season premiere, and the first teaser for Season 4 was released in February 2020.[[/note]], only to hit numerous delays (see TroubledProduction below) that repeatedly pushed back the release.
140	* SeparatedAtBirthCasting:
141	** Noah Schnapp (Will Byers) could easily be Winona Ryder's (Joyce Byers) real-life son with their shared doe eyes, straight brown hair, pale skin and nose shapes. After his voice cracked from puberty, the similarity in his voice to that of Charlie Heaton (Jonathan) became a bit more apparent.
142	** Even without CGI, Martie Marie Blair, the young actress who portrays a young Eleven in Season 4, looks almost ''exactly'' like Creator/MillieBobbyBrown did when she first appeared as Eleven in Season 1. One wouldn't be at fault for thinking they were sisters.
143	** Raphael Luce is very convincing as the younger version of [[spoiler:Creator/JamieCampbellBower.]]
144	* ShrugOfGod: When asked about [[AmbiguouslyGay Will's]] sexuality and the meaning of Mike's line about Will not liking girls in Season 3, Noah Schnapp said it was [[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/02/26/stranger-things-noah-schnapp-will-byers-sexual-orientation-gay-asexual-netflix/ "up to interpretation" by the audience]]. He initially took this tack again when the first volume of Season 4 was released [[spoiler: in order to avoid spoiling the rest of the season, but later changed his tune when the second half released and confirmed that Will is gay (see WordOfGay below)]].
145	* SpinOffCookbook: There is a parody cookbook called ''Stranger Fillings''.
146	* StarMakingRole: Almost the entire cast.
147	** Creator/MillieBobbyBrown had small roles on television on series such as ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' and ''Series/GreysAnatomy''. Her turn as Eleven catapulted her into the national spotlight overnight, and the beginning of a film career with the major role of Madison Russell in ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]''.
148	** Creator/FinnWolfhard has been more in the spotlight in other shows and movies because of his role as Mike Wheeler. Mike is dressed as a Ghostbuster in Season 2 - and Finn Wolfhard would end up in ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife''.
149	** Creator/GatenMatarazzo, who's had a steady career acting in film, television, and theater, in part thanks to his distinct appearance and voice.
150	** Creator/DavidHarbour received a boost in visibility after years working as a character actor in TV and film.
151	** Creator/JoeKeery, who went from indie film actor to genuine star as a result of his role as Steve Harrington.
152	** Creator/SadieSink had already done Broadway, but entered the spotlight too as Max, especially after Season 4's release. Headlining ''Film/FearStreet 1978'' and being selected for Music/TaylorSwift's ShortFilm for "All Too Well" solidified it.
153	** Creator/CalebMcLaughlin, Creator/NoahSchnapp, Creator/NataliaDyer, Creator/CharlieHeaton, and Creator/MayaHawke have also benefited greatly from the success of this show.
154	** Creator/JosephQuinn immediately became an in-demand actor thanks to the popularity of his character Eddie Munson.
155	* SuppressedMammaries: During the Season 4 flashback scenes that Creator/MillieBobbyBrown had to portray a younger Eleven in, the lab gown she wears was clearly designed to hide the cleavage that she most certainly did not have during Season 1.
156	* ThrowItIn:
157	** During the final scene of Season 2, [[spoiler:you can see Finn quietly tell Millie Bobby Brown "I'm coming in" before the kiss]].
158	** Small one in Season 2 Episode 6 - when Murray is teasing Nancy and Jonathan, he drops some food from his fork that obviously wasn't scripted, but keeps playing along, saying "Oops", still with a grin on his face. Natalia Dyer [[{{Corpsing}} nearly starts laughing]]. In the outtakes, all three actors as well as the people filming and watching, cracked up after the scene ended.
159	** Finn Wolfhard improvised the lines "Blank makes you crazy" to Eleven in Season 3 and the line "You're my superhero" in the Season 4 episode "The Piggyback".
160	** A fair amount in Season 4: Creator/JosephQuinn improvised the lines "Don't you, big boy?" to Steve [[note]]You can actually see Joe Keery and Maya Hawke looking confused when he says it.[[/note]] and "I love you, man" to Dustin [[spoiler: as Eddie is dying]], Caleb [=McLaughlin=] improvised Lucas calling out, [[spoiler: "Erica, help!" as he cradles a dying Max]], and David Harbour and Winona Ryder improvised [[spoiler: Joyce and Hopper's first kiss]].
161	* TroubledProduction: Season 4 was already partway through filming when the Covid-19 pandemic forced production to stop for several months. After filming resumed, one of the Netflix soundstages where part of the show is filmed caught fire, although no one was injured and no sets were destroyed. Overall, the delays were bad enough that even a ballpark release date for the season wasn't announced until August 2021, more than two years after the release of Season 3. It didn't help that Season 4 is roughly twice the runtime of previous seasons and had to be filmed in multiple locations due to major storylines taking place in California and Russia in addition to Hawkins. The massive amount of special effects required compared to previous seasons also significantly slowed things down--in fact, the reason Season 4 had to be split into two parts was because the visual effects and editing for the last two episodes weren't completed until ''the day before they were released'', and some of the special effects in volume 1 had to be patched after release to match the last two episodes.
162	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
163	** The series was originally called ''Montauk'' and was intended to take place in Montauk, New York, before production moved to Atlanta for logistical reasons. Amusingly this would have put it right across the Long Island Sound from LovecraftCountry.
164	** The Duffer Brothers had trouble finding a network that agreed to their vision of the show. Except for Netflix, all the networks wanted to ditch the kids and focus on Hopper.
165	** Steve was originally a much bigger and more stereotypical JerkJock than he was in the series, to the point where he forced himself on Nancy in the first draft of the pilot script. He was also supposed to die at the hands of the Demogorgon in Season 1. Amusingly enough, his character became more heroic after Joe Keery turned out to be [[NiceGuy too likable]] for such a role. In Season 2, Billy Hargrove was created to fill that role that Steve could have been.
166	** Creator/MatthewModine turned down the role of Dr. Brenner several times when it was pitched to him, due to finding the character rather boring initially. However, the Duffer Brothers promised that Brenner would go on to be very important in the show, and so Modine eventually accepted with the added bonus of having creative direction on how to perform the character.
167	** Father John Misty turned down an offer for a small role in Season 2, saying he doesn't want to be "TV famous."
168	** Season 2 was originally going to end with [[spoiler:Mike only discovering Eleven was back at the Snow Ball, but then it was decided that would be way too much emotion to pile onto the scene.]]
169	** Bob was originally [[spoiler:going to die much sooner, with the original plan being that Will would kill him in the third episode of Season 2. It was decided to keep him around longer so that the audience would become attached to him, making his demise all the more heartbreaking. The writers also felt this made Joyce's desire for revenge even more intense]].
170	** The Demogorgon was intended to be portrayed entirely with practical effects, which is why it's essentially human-shaped. Upon filming with the suit, they quickly realized it wouldn't work in certain scenes and they needed to put some CGI in.
171	** The crew started out using "The Nether" as the other dimension's official name. Then "The Upside Down" caught on so much that they started using it themselves.
172	** Season 2 was going to have a TimeSkip to the present day, in keeping with the show's origins in the Duffers not getting to make an adaptation of ''Literature/{{It}}''. Upon starting Season 1, they quickly realized what a special thing they had with the younger actors, which they had to keep.
173	** According to Dacre Montgomery, Billy had more profane dialogue in the original scripts.
174	** Behold, [[https://i.imgur.com/zprpcjg.png the original]] [[https://i0.wp.com/www.thegeeklikes.com/wp-content/uploads/Demogorgon-2-by-Nuttavut-Baiphowongse.jpg?w=316&h=447&crop Concept art]] for the Demogorgon.
175	** Originally, the Upside Down was meant to have an inverted time scale in comparison to Earth's (i.e., whenever it would be daytime in Hawkins, it would be nighttime in the Upside Down, and vice-versa). It was later changed to being AlwaysNight so it would give the place more of a consistently hostile feel and overall nightmarish design.
176	** Creator/TelltaleGames was going to make a game of the series, but went bankrupt shortly after the announcement.
177	** The original idea for Dustin and Suzy's big musical number from the Season 3 finale was "The Ent and the Ent-wives" from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', but then they figured Netflix might take issue considering their competitor Amazon was developing their own series based on that franchise.
178	** Lucas was originally supposed to have the last name "Conley" and be a brash loudmouth with anger issues stemming from his parents being in the middle of an ugly divorce. Over the course of development, his last name changed to Sinclair, his character became much more level-headed, and his parents are shown to be pretty much the only HappilyMarried couple in the series.
179	** Francesca Reale (Heather) originally auditioned to play Robin before the role went to Creator/MayaHawke instead.
180	** According to the early show bible, Terry Ives was originally going to be male and the local conspiracy theorist. The name was eventually kept and used for Eleven's mother, while Murray Bauman was then given the character's former role.
181	** Steve was originally going to have swim meet scenes in the first season, complete with a speedo, so Joe Keery got in shape and learned how to swim only to find out those scenes were cut because production couldn't get a pool big enough. The idea was finally revisited in the fourth season, with Steve mentioning being on the swim team before he dives down to investigate the lake.
182	** Regarding [[spoiler:Max's fate]] at the end of Season 4 - the original plan was that she ''would'' be KilledOffForReal. [[spoiler:This was changed to instead having her "die" just long enough for Vecna's gates to open.]]
183	** The nature of the Mind Flayer and its relationship to Vecna would have been explained in greater deal in the Season 4 finale, with concept art showing Henry/One using his powers to extract the Mind Flayer particles from the floating boulders found in the pre-Hawkins Upside Down. The particles themselves would be explained as having anti-gravity properties that kept the boulders afloat. Ultimately, this idea was scrapped as the writers felt it would "take too long to explain," and instead the scene was written to have Henry/One to find the Mind Flayers particles in an amorphous cloud.
184	** [[https://www.vulture.com/article/stranger-things-4-matthew-modine-dr-brenner-death-interview.html Dr. Brenner was originally going to officially return much sooner, as he was planned to have a much bigger role in the events of Season 2]], but he was later cut down to a brief hallucination sequence since the Duffer Brothers realized that there wasn't really a place for him in the show's events at the time. Brenner would make a proper reappearance in Season 4, where he becomes instrumental in bringing Eleven's powers back.
185	** After meeting her catatonic mother in Season 2, Eleven was initially going to MercyKill her. She ultimately is spared in the show.
186	** [[spoiler:Bob Newby]]'s death was originally very different in earlier drafts. Namely, he would've been murdered by Will while under the Mind Flayer's possession, rather than be eaten by Demogorgons.
187	** At some point, there were plans to introduce Alexei's father as a character in Season 4, who would've teamed up with Hopper at some point during the latter's stint in prison.
188	** Jonathan was supposed to be present during a scene in Chapter 8 of Season 2 where the group discusses what the Mind Flayer is, but he ended up being removed from it because Creator/CharlieHeaton [[{{Corpsing}} kept bursting out laughing]] during the scene where Steve compares them to the Germans.
189	* WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings:
190	** Creator/GraceVanDien (Chrissy) used to be a very vocal supporter of Hellcheer (Eddie and Chrissy) fanart and would often like and comment on other fans' work but eventually stopped after facing harassment and bullying for several months from Steddie shippers, even going as far to change her privacy settings on her tumblr page. It eventually got so bad that Joseph Quinn had to step in to [[https://gamerant.com/stranger-things-joseph-quinn-chrissy-actress-grace-van-dien-harassment/ say something]].
191	* WordOfGay: While [[spoiler: Will's]] sexuality is pretty obvious in-show by the end of Season 4 despite not being explicitly stated, any lingering doubt was removed by Noah Schnapp [[https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/stranger-things-noah-schnapp-will-byers-gay-doja-cat-1235317378/ stating]] that it's "100% clear" that [[spoiler: Will is gay and in love with Mike]] and the Duffers [[https://deadline.com/2022/07/stranger-things-duffer-brothers-interview-season-five-1235058041/ confirming]] that [[spoiler: Will's speech about El's feelings for Mike is his way of confessing his own feelings]].
192	* WordOfSaintPaul: After the conclusion of Season 4, Creator/MatthewModine expressed his opinion that he believed that Dr. Brenner is still alive after being shot by the army in the penultimate episode.
193	* WorkingTitle: ''Montauk''.
194	* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: While they do come up with outlines for each season before starting production, the Duffers usually only have a few episodes written by the time they start filming a season, allowing them to adjust future episodes on the fly based on the actors' performances and suggestions:
195	** Most famously, Steve was supposed to be a terrible person who died in Season 1, but Joe Keery proved to be so likable that they rewrote the character to have a redemption arc, even giving him the role of being the character who rescues Jonathan and Nancy from the Demogorgon (which Lonnie was originally supposed to do).
196	** According to Maya Hawke, while the Duffers [[https://www.gq.com/story/hawke-girl-summer always had the possibility of Robin being a lesbian in mind]], it wasn't officially decided until partway through filming Season 3. As she and Joe Keery filmed Steve and Robin's scenes together, it became increasingly obvious to everyone that Robin was indeed gay, and so the coming-out scene was added to the script.
197	** After seeing Charlie Heaton and Noah Schnapp's performances in the scene where [[spoiler: Jonathan watches Will crying in the rearview mirror after giving a coded confession of his feelings for Mike]] in Season 4, the Duffers realized that they couldn't leave the storyline hanging there and added the scene of Jonathan telling Will that he loves him no matter what and can talk to him about anything.
198	----
199	!![[Pinball/StrangerThings The pinball machine]]
200	* ContentLeak: The game got hit with this repeatedly.
201	** The pinball podcast host and leaker Kaneda repeatedly hinted at its existence in the latter half of 2019 before revealing increasingly detailed information. He started with some textual details about the game, along with the schedule for their actual reveal (a teaser video would be posted on December 22nd before the game's full reveal the next day). This was followed by him prematurely posting the game's promo video.[[note]]Notably, the leaked video features a few noticeable differences from [[https://youtu.be/F2XZFrC0Lq0?t=13 the official version]] - there are several voice clips from [[Series/StrangerThings the original series]] that are absent from the final cut, and the end screen is laid out differently.[[/note]]
202	** Shortly before the video was posted, two different sources (a Pinside user and the website This Week in Pinball) posted two lengthy, near-identical lists of the game's features almost simultaneously. Most all of their claims were proven correct when the game was properly announced.

Context Trivia / StrangerThings