Duffer Brothers Reveal Why They Don’t Want 20-Episode Seasons Every Year

Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of “Stranger Things,” are looking ahead to life after their hit Netflix series.

Speaking at Variety’s Entertainment and Technology Summit in Los Angeles, the brothers talked about their surprising new deal with Paramount and why they’re excited to focus on movies.

In August, the Duffers revealed that their company, Upside Down Pictures, is leaving Netflix for an exclusive four-year partnership with Paramount. The deal covers films, TV, and streaming projects, but for the Duffers, the big draw was the chance to put a movie in theaters.

Ross Duffer explained to Variety’s Michael Schneider why they made the move. “When Matt and I were talking about what we want to do next, it really came down to we wanted to do a movie, specifically an original movie — a big original film. And theatrical is so important to us.”

He added that the brothers hadn’t gone looking for a new studio while they were still finishing up post-production on the final season of “Stranger Things,” which arrives in November.

Instead, Paramount came to them, and the idea of theatrical distribution won them over. “It’s just something we dreamed about since we were little kids,” Ross said.

While the Duffers are mainly interested in creating original films, Matt said they’re open to working with some of Paramount’s existing properties, though their standards are strict. “The market is so flooded with IP and sometimes it’s like IP that doesn’t mean anything. I don’t understand that. How is that bring any value to anything? I like IP that was botched. Someone swung and missed. Then you have an opportunity to do it properly.”

The brothers also made it clear that they don’t want to run a giant studio that churns out dozens of shows and movies. Matt said, “We don’t want to become like Bad Robot. Ross and I are incapable of juggling that many things.”

Instead, they prefer to back creative people in the same way Shawn Levy supported them when he agreed to produce “Stranger Things” in 2015. “We like identifying really talented people and then just helping them get their vision made and then mostly staying out of the way,” Matt explained.

As for television, their plan with Paramount is to focus on shorter seasons. Matt said, “I get fatigued watching 20-episode seasons. We didn’t grow up interested in any of that. We only watched movies. That’s the weird thing that we ended up in TV, because we had almost zero interest in television.” The goal is to make event-style series with eight to ten episodes, like “Stranger Things.” “If TV shows come out every year, it’s diminishing return,” Matt said. “I like the buildup.”

The Duffers aren’t cutting ties with Netflix just yet. They still have two series on the way, “The Boroughs” and “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen,” which are both expected in 2026. They’re also behind “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85,” an animated show inspired by Saturday morning cartoons, and are set to executive produce a “Stranger Things” spin-off, though they didn’t share any details.

Matt said they’re careful about what they take to Netflix. “We just want to make sure that if we’re gonna do it, it’s something that we’re very excited about. We really are careful about what we bring to Netflix.”

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