<P> The Duffer Brothers developed the series as a mix of investigative drama alongside supernatural elements with childlike sensibilities, establishing its time frame in the 1980s and creating a homage to pop culture of that decade . Several themes and directorial aspects were inspired and aesthetically informed by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, and Stephen King, among others, including several films, anime and video games . </P> <P> The first season was released on Netflix on July 15, 2016 . It received critical acclaim for its characterization, pacing, atmosphere, acting, soundtrack, directing, writing, and homages to 1980s genre films . The series has received several industry nominations and awards, including winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2016, and receiving nineteen nominations for the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series . </P> <P> On August 31, 2016, Netflix renewed the series for a second season of nine episodes, which was released on October 27, 2017 . In December 2017, Netflix ordered a third season, which began production in April 2018 and will consist of eight episodes . The Duffer Brothers have said that Stranger Things is likely to end after its fourth or fifth season . </P> <P> Stranger Things is set in the fictional rural town of Hawkins, Indiana, during the early 1980s . The nearby Hawkins National Laboratory ostensibly performs scientific research for the United States Department of Energy, but secretly does experiments into the paranormal and supernatural, including those that involve human test subjects . Inadvertently, they have created a portal to an alternate dimension called "the Upside Down". The influence of the Upside Down starts to affect the unknowing residents of Hawkins in calamitous ways . </P>

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