<P> The Duffer Brothers prepared a script that would essentially be similar to the series' actual pilot episode, along with a 20 - page pitch book to help shop the series around for a network . They pitched the story to a number of cable networks, all of which rejected the script on the basis that they felt a plot centered around children as leading characters would not work, asking them to make it a children's show or to drop the children and focus on Hopper's investigation in the paranormal . In early 2015, Dan Cohen, the VP of 21 Laps Entertainment, brought the script to his colleague Shawn Levy . They subsequently invited The Duffer Brothers to their office and purchased the rights for the series, giving full authorship of it to the brothers . After reading the pilot, the streaming service Netflix purchased the whole season for an undisclosed amount; the show was subsequently announced for a planned 2016 release by Netflix in early April 2015 . The Duffer Brothers stated that at the time they had pitched to Netflix, the service had already gotten recognized for its original programming, such as House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, with well - recognized producers behind them, and were ready to start giving upcoming producers like them a chance . The brothers started to write out the series and brought Levy and Cohen in as executive producers to start casting and filming . </P> <P>--The Duffer Brothers' original pitch for Montauk </P> <P> The series was originally known as Montauk, as the setting of the script was in Montauk, New York and nearby Long Island locations . The brothers had chosen Montauk as it had further Spielberg ties with the film Jaws, where Montauk was used for the fictional setting of Amity Island . After deciding to change the narrative of the series to take place in the fictional town of Hawkins instead, the brothers felt they could now do things to the town, such as placing it under quarantine, that they really could not envision with a real location . With the change in location, they had to come up with a new title for the series under direction from Netflix's Ted Sarandos so that they could start marketing it to the public . The brothers started by using a copy of Stephen King's Firestarter novel to consider the title's font and appearance, and came up with a long list of potential alternatives . Stranger Things came about as it sounded similar to another King novel, Needful Things, though Matt noted they still had a "lot of heated arguments" over this final title . </P> <P> To pitch the series, The Duffers showcased images, footage and music from 1980s films such as E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Poltergeist, Hellraiser, Stand by Me, Firestarter, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Jaws, in order to establish the tone of the series . </P>

What was stranger things originally going to be called