When the first season of Netflix's "Stranger Things" debuted in 2016, it seemed out of the blue. Managing to perfectly encapsulate retro sci-fi horror films and series from years gone by, it also had the distinctive atmosphere emblematic of the 1980s. In a 2022 appearance on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast with Josh Horowitz, the Duffer Brothers spoke about the kind of storytelling they wanted to accomplish with "Stranger Things," and specifically cited the 2011 J.J. Abrams film "Super 8" as one of their chief inspirations. More than that, though, "Super 8" had an emphasis on young people fostering strong friendships in hard times. Just like the fire-forged friendships the main characters of "Stranger Things" would build over the show's five seasons.