Paramount is making significant moves to secure the Duffer brothers, the creators of the immensely popular series Stranger Things, as they approach the show’s final season.
Paramount’s Aggressive Move to Sign the Duffer Brothers
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
With the final season of the viral sensation sci-fi series on the horizon, the Duffer brothers may be leaving Netflix after Stranger Things season 5. Ever since its premiere in 2016, the show has been one of the biggest properties on TV, consistently breaking viewership records and spawning various forms of merchandise and even a Broadway play.
After four successful seasons on the air, the Duffers announced that Stranger Things season 5 would be the end of the series, with production having run from January to December 2024. However, as part of their overall deal with Netflix, it won’t be the end for the franchise, as both an animated and live-action spinoff are in the works for it.
Now, as first reported by Puck‘s Matt Belloni, Paramount is reportedly “aggressively” making an effort to sign the Duffer brothers to a new creative deal. A subsequent report from Deadline indicated that the deal would include “both streaming [TV] and features with a big theatrical component”, something the creative pair reportedly have been trying to make happen at Netflix, but failed. As of now, reports indicate the deal will not impact any future Stranger Things properties.
What This New Deal Could Mean For Stranger Things & The Duffer Brothers
The possibility of the Duffer brothers moving from Netflix to Paramount comes at an interesting time for all parties involved. For starters, in the wake of the Paramount-Skydance merger, the studio has been making some big moves with both recurring and new creatives. Most notably, Taylor Sheridan, 101 Studios, Hillwood, and Paramount Television are developing Texas’ largest movie and TV production studio.
Additionally, the studio has undergone a new segmentation breakdown when it comes to their TV productions, including relaunching Paramount Television for the third time to oversee the likes of Reacher and its spinoff, Neagley, and Cross for Prime Video, as well as Apple TV+’s Murderbot. CBS Studios, meanwhile, will continue the network’s procedurals output, as well as the Star Trek franchise, among others.
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As for the Duffers, however, prior to the deal being made, anticipation has been steadily ramping back up for all things Stranger Things with the lead-up to season 5 part 1’s November 26 premiere. Additionally, progress on its spinoffs has been gaining steam, with the animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 showing footage at this year’s Annecy Animation Festival.
Should the deal indeed go through, though, that would leave a few other projects in an unclear state of development. The Duffers had previously been attached to adapt Stephen King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman into a series, as well as produce a live-action series adaptation of Death Note, for the streamer.
If the reports are to be believed, that would mean only future Stranger Things spinoffs would not be part of the Duffers’ Paramount deal. This could very well lead to them either having to remove themselves from said projects, or if Paramount is as aggressive in their pursuit as they reportedly are, could see them bring the projects with them.
Developing…
