‘Stranger Things’ Creators Set Supernatural Series ‘The Boroughs’ at Netflix

Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer are ramping up their next acts at Netflix.

Ten days after announcing an animated series set within the Stranger Things universe, the Duffer brothers have scored a series order for The Boroughs, a sci-fi drama from The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance duo Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews.

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The project, which was first announced last July as part of their nine-figure overall deal with the streamer, is based on an original idea from Addiss and Matthews. The Boroughs takes place in a seemingly picturesque retirement community in the New Mexico desert and, like Stranger Things, revolves around a group of unlikely heroes who must band together to stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don’t have: time.

“We’ve been fans of Jeff and Will’s writing for a long time, and when they pitched us their idea for The Boroughs, we immediately knew they had something very special on their hands,” the Duffers said in a release announcing the news Thursday. “While the heroes in The Boroughs have a few more years on them than the kids from Stranger Things, they are a similarly lovable bunch of misfits, and we can’t wait for you to join them on an adventure that is at turns scary, funny and deeply touching.”

Addiss and Matthews are set to serve as showrunners on the eight-episode series and will exec produce alongside the Duffers. The Duffers’ Upside Down Pictures banner partner Hilary Leavitt will also be credited as an executive producer.

“We’re thrilled to be back at Netflix,” Addiss and Matthews said, noting their return to the streamer that canceled Dark Crystal a mere two days after the series won an Emmy for outstanding children’s program. “Working alongside the Duffer brothers (who are pretty good at making shows) and their team has been a dream come true. They bring the perfect balance of heart and horror to our story. We can’t wait for audiences around the world to unlock the dark mystery buried beneath the sunny facade of The Boroughs.”

The Boroughs joins the upcoming fifth and final season of Stranger Things at Netflix for the Duffers. Other projects to stem from their overall deal with the company include the Stranger Things animated series; a London stage show, Stranger Things: The First Shadow; and an untitled live-action spinoff of the flagship series in the works. Outside of the franchise, the Duffers are also tackling Stephen King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman and a live-action take of the anime show Death Note.

For their part, Addiss and Matthews created Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance for Netflix and The Jim Henson Co. Their animated feature, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, is expected to debut theatrically in April 2024. Their first feature, Life in a Year, is now streaming on Amazon. The duo, who met at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, are also developing projects for Fox, ABC and FX, with features in the works at Sony, Paramount and Broad Green. They’re repped by Verve and Jackoway Austen.

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