The Duffer Brothers

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Matt and Ross Duffer
Matt Duffer on the left, with Ross Duffer on the right, both seated behind a table with name cards in front of them and looking to the viewer's left, with a San Diego Comic-Con BBanner in the background
Matt (left) and Ross (right) Duffer at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1984-02-15) February 15, 1984 (age 42)
Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
EducationChapman University (BFA)
Occupations
  • Writers
  • directors
  • producers
Years active2005–present
Known forStranger Things
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2015; sep. 2024)​
(Ross)

Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer (born February 15, 1984), often credited as the Duffer Brothers, are both American filmmakers and television show makers. The brothers are identical twins and work on all their projects as a pair.[1] They are best known as the creators, directors, and executive producers of the Netflix science fiction horror series Stranger Things (2016–2025), and have also written and directed the horror film Hidden (2015) and written and produced episodes of the Fox science fiction series Wayward Pines (2015–2016). The Duffer Brothers founded the production company Upside Down Pictures, which is in an overall deal with Netflix.[2]

Career

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Early career

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After the brothers had written and directed several short films, they wrote a script titled "Origin", which gained them an agent, and their script for the post-apocalyptic horror film Hidden was acquired by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2011.[3] The brothers directed Hidden, which was released in 2015. Next they were hired as writers and producers for the Fox television series Wayward Pines. As of 2024, they were also the executive producers of a Netflix show called The Boroughs, described as a supernatural drama set in a retirement community in the New Mexico desert.[4]

Stranger Things

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With experience in television, they began pitching their idea for Stranger Things, which Dan Cohen eventually brought to Shawn Levy. Backed by Levy's 21 Laps production company, the show was quickly picked up by Netflix.[5][6] The show is set in 1980s Indiana and is an homage to 1980s pop culture,[7] inspired and aesthetically informed by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, David Lynch, Stephen King, and George Lucas, among others.[8][9]

It was released on July 15, 2016, to overwhelming praise,[10] specifically for its characterization, pacing, atmosphere, acting, soundtrack, directing, writing, and homages to 1980s genre films. It began to develop a cult following online.[11] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the series an approval rating of 92%, 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."[12]

On September 30, 2019, Netflix announced it had signed the Duffers for additional films and television shows over the coming years.[13]

In March 2021, the duo announced they will team up with Spielberg to adapt Stephen King's and Peter Straub's The Talisman as a Netflix series. They will both be executive producers via Amblin Partners 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.[14]

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 recommitted to Netflix with several new projects. Among these include a live-action series adaptation of Death Note and a series adaptation of The Talisman, in addition to their follow-up series to Stranger Things.[15]

The Duffers have said they plan to release a spin-off book of Stranger Things in celebration of the show coming to an end.

Paramount

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In August 2025, it was announced that the brothers and their company would be signing a four-year deal at Paramount, which would result in the duos' departing from their long-time partnership at Netflix. Still, their deal at Paramount would not only create new series from the studio's TV and streaming division, but also an opportunity to produce and direct theatrical feature films for the studio as well, something that the duo wasn't able to do during their deal with Netflix.[16][17][18]

Personal lives

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The Duffer Brothers were born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, the sons of Ann Marie Christensen (born 1951), a part-time real estate broker,[19] and Allen Pace Duffer Jr. (born 1946), a film buff and Research Triangle Institute[20] Project Director.[21]

They began making films in the third grade, using a Hi8 video camera that was a gift from their parents.[22][23] They attended the Duke School for Children[23] a private suburban school, from grades K through 8, and then the Charles E. Jordan High School, a large Durham public school.

They were accepted at the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts, but were not willing to be educated separately.[24] They toured New York University Tisch School of the Arts Department of Cinema Studies and USC School of Cinematic Arts but were not accepted, but someone they met introduced them to someone,[24] who suggested Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts for film study and they relocated to Orange, California, where they graduated in 2007.[5][25]

Matt has one child with his fiancée, Sarah Hindsgaul;[26] Winona Ryder is the godmother.[27]

Filmography

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Film

Year Title Directors Writers
2015 Hidden[28] Yes Yes

Television

Year Title Directors Writers Executive
Producers 		Creators Notes
2015–2016 Wayward Pines No Yes Co-Executive No Wrote 4 episodes
2016–2025 Stranger Things Yes Yes Yes Yes Directed 22 episodes; wrote 18 episodes
2026 Stranger Things: Tales from '85 No No Yes No
2026 The Boroughs No No Yes No
2026 Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen No No Yes No

Awards

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2016 American Film Institute Award Top 10 TV Programs of the Year Stranger Things Won [29]
Critics' Choice Television Award Best Drama Series Stranger Things Nominated [30]
[31]
Most Bingeworthy Show Stranger Things Nominated
2017 American Film Institute Award Top 10 TV Programs of the Year Stranger Things Won [32]
Bram Stoker Award Best Screenplay Stranger Things for "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" Nominated [33]
Stranger Things for "Chapter Eight: The Upside Down" Nominated
Superior Achievement in a Screenplay Stranger Things for "Chapter One: MADMAX" Nominated [34]
British Academy Television Award Best International Programme Stranger Things Nominated [35]
Directors Guild of America Award Outstanding Directing – Drama Series Stranger Things for "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" Nominated [36]
Dorian Award TV Drama of the Year Stranger Things Nominated [37]
Dragon Award Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series Stranger Things Won [38]
Empire Award Best TV Series Stranger Things Nominated [39]
Fangoria Chainsaw Award Best TV Series Stranger Things Won [40]
Golden Globe Award Best Television Series – Drama Stranger Things Nominated [41]
Hugo Award Best Dramatic Presentation Stranger Things for the first season Nominated [42]
MTV Movie & TV Award Best Show Stranger Things Won [43]
National Television Award Best Period Drama Stranger Things Nominated [44]
NME Award Best TV Series Stranger Things Nominated [45]
People's Choice Award Favorite TV Show Stranger Things Nominated [46]
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Stranger Things for "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" Nominated [47]
Outstanding Drama Series Stranger Things Nominated
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Stranger Things for "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" Nominated
Producers Guild of America Award Best Episodic Drama Stranger Things Won [48]
Satellite Award Best Television Series – Genre Stranger Things Nominated [49]
Saturn Award Best New Media Television Series Stranger Things Won[a] [50]
[51]
Shorty Award Best TV Show Stranger Things Nominated [52]
TCA Award Outstanding Achievement in Drama Stranger Things Nominated [53]
Outstanding New Program Stranger Things Nominated
Program of the Year Stranger Things Nominated
Teen Choice Award Choice Breakout Series Stranger Things Nominated [54]
Choice Fantasy/Sci-Fi Series Stranger Things Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Television: Dramatic Series Stranger Things Nominated [55]
Television: New Series Stranger Things Nominated
2018 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Drama Series Stranger Things Nominated [56]
Directors Guild of America Award Outstanding Directing – Drama Series Stranger Things for "Chapter Nine: The Gate" Nominated [57]
Empire Award Best TV Series Stranger Things Nominated [58]
Golden Globe Award Best Television Series – Drama Stranger Things Nominated [59]
MTV Movie & TV Award Best Show Stranger Things Won [60]
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award Favorite TV Show Stranger Things Won [61]
NME Award Best TV Series Stranger Things Won [62]
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Stranger Things for "Chapter Nine: The Gate" Nominated [63]
Outstanding Drama Series Stranger Things Nominated
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Stranger Things for "Chapter Nine: The Gate" Nominated
Producers Guild of America Award Best Episodic Drama Stranger Things Nominated [64]
Satellite Award Best Television Series – Genre Stranger Things Nominated [65]
Saturn Award Best New Media Television Series Stranger Things Nominated [66]
Teen Choice Award Choice Fantasy/Sci-Fi Series Stranger Things Nominated [67]
Writers Guild of America Award Television: Dramatic Series Stranger Things Nominated [68]
2019 Grammy Award Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media Stranger Things Nominated [69]
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award Favorite TV Drama Stranger Things Nominated [70]
People's Choice Awards Bingeworthy Show of 2019 Stranger Things Nominated [71]
Drama Show of 2019 Stranger Things Won
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show of 2019 Stranger Things Nominated
Show of 2019 Stranger Things Won
Saturn Award Best Streaming Horror & Thriller Series Stranger Things Won [72]
Teen Choice Award Choice Summer TV Show Stranger Things Won [73]
2020 Satellite Award Best Genre Series Stranger Things Won [74]
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Drama Series Stranger Things Nominated [75]

References

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  4. ^ "Netflix Orders Supernatural Drama From 'Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' Creators, Duffer Brothers to Produce"
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  6. ^ Geoff Berkshire, "Stranger Things: Shawn Levy on Directing Winona Ryder, Netflix's Viral Model", Variety, July 22, 2016.
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Notes

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  1. ^ Tied with Marvel's Luke Cage
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