Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer (born February 15, 1984), often credited as the Duffer Brothers, are American film and television writers, directors, and producers. They are best known as the creators, directors and executive producers of the hit

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction ** Korean horror, Korean horror fiction *Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing on ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

series ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Pr ...

''. They also wrote and directed the 2015

psychological horror Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subgenr ...

film '' Hidden'', and wrote and produced episodes for the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

-science fiction series ''

Wayward Pines ''Wayward Pines'' is an American mystery science fiction television series based on the ''Wayward Pines'' novels by Blake Crouch. Developed for television by Chad Hodge, the pilot was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, with both as executive p ...

''. They are identical

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with t ...

brothers and have had a close relationship since childhood. They work on all their projects as a pair.

Career

After the brothers had written and directed several short films, their script for the post-apocalyptic horror film '' Hidden'' was acquired by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of l ...

in 2011. The brothers would go on to direct the film ''Hidden'', which was released in 2015. Next the Duffer brothers were hired as writers/producers for the

television series ''

''.

''Stranger Things''

With experience in television, they began pitching their idea for ''

'', which Dan Cohen eventually brought to

Shawn Levy Shawn Adam Levy (born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian film director, film producer, actor, and founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. He has worked across genres and is perhaps best known as the director of the ''Night at the Museum'' film franchise an ...

. Backed by Levy's

21 Laps 21 Laps Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded and run by director-producer Shawn Levy. The company is best known as the producers of ''Stranger Things'', and exclusively distributes content through a partn ...

production company, the show was quickly picked up by

. The show is set in 1980s

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

and is an

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to t ...

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ...

, inspired and aesthetically informed by the works of

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spi ...

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the '' Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1990 superhero film ''Darkman' ...

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high ...

, and

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chai ...

, among others. It was released on July 15, 2016, to overwhelming praise, specifically for its characterization, pacing, atmosphere, acting, soundtrack, directing, writing, and homages to 1980s genre films. It began to develop a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic ...

online.

Review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

gave the series an approval rating of 95%, based on 82 reviews, with a weighted average score of 7.96/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Exciting, heartbreaking, and sometimes scary, ''Stranger Things'' acts as an addictive homage to Spielberg films and vintage 1980s television." On September 30, 2019, Netflix announced they had signed the Duffers for additional films and television shows over the coming years. In March 2021, the duo announced they will team up with Spielberg to adapt Stephen King's and

Peter Straub Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

's ''

The Talisman A talisman is an object which is purported to possess certain magical properties. Talisman may also refer to: Art and entertainment Fictional characters * Talisman (comics), a superhero from Marvel Comics who was a member of Alpha Flight * Tali ...

'' as a

series. They will both be executive producers via

Amblin Partners Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American entertainment production company, which succeeded the live-action counterpart of DreamWorks and is led by Steven Spielberg. It develops and produces f ...

and Monkey Massacre and have hired Curtis Gwinn, who worked as a writer-executive producer on ''Stranger Things'', to act as writer and showrunner of the project. Following the premiere of the fourth season of ''Stranger Things'' in July 2022, the Duffers launched the production company Upside Down Pictures, for which they offered Netflix several possible concepts for a follow up to the show. Among these include a live-action series adaption of ''

Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to May ...

'' and a series adaption of ''The Talisman'', in addition to their follow up series to ''Stranger Things''.

Personal lives

The Duffer Brothers were born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, the sons of Ann M. Christensen and Allen P. Duffer. They began making films in the third grade, using a

Hi8 The 8mm video format refers informally to three related videocassette formats. These are the original Video8 (analog recording) format and its improved successor Hi8 (analog video and analog audio but with provision for digital audio), as well a ...

video camera that was a gift from their parents. They attended the Duke School for Children from grades K-8, a private suburban school, and then the

Charles E. Jordan High School Charles E. Jordan High School (generally referred to as Jordan) is located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. It is one of seven high schools in Durham Public Schools. It is located on Garrett Road near Hope Valley Road in southwest Durham ...

, a large Durham public school. They relocated to

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before 1920. While many othe ...

, to study film at

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...

Dodge College of Film and Media Arts Dodge College of Film and Media Arts is one of ten schools constituting Chapman University, located in Orange, California, south of Los Angeles. The school offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, with programs in film production, screenwriting ...

, where they graduated in 2007. Ross Duffer (35378152014)

Ross Duffer married director

Leigh Janiak Leigh Anne Janiak (born February 1, 1980) is an American director and screenwriter who is known for directing the 2014 horror film ''Honeymoon'' and the ''Fear Street'' Trilogy. Early life and education Janiak was born on February 1, 1980 in ...

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

, California in December 2015. The couple met in 2006 at a production company in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, where she was an assistant to the producer and he was an intern. Matt Duffer (35409275453)

Filmography

Film

Other film credits

Television

Awards

References

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duffer Brothers 1984 births American horror writers American male screenwriters American science fiction writers American television directors American television writers Chapman University alumni Horror film directors Filmmaking duos Living people Place of birth missing (living people) American male television writers Writers from Durham, North Carolina Science fiction film directors American twins Screenwriting duos Sibling filmmakers Film directors from North Carolina Screenwriters from North Carolina 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers