Netflix green-lights Stranger Things spin-off

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Netflix has green-lighted a live-action Stranger Things spin-off series based on an original idea by American film and TV writers Matt and Ross Duffer, also known as the Duffer brothers. This comes as the brothers recently formed a new production company named Upside Down Pictures for film and TV projects as part of their overall deal with Netflix.

Alongside the live-action spin-off series is a new stage play set within the world and mythology of Stranger Things, produced by producers Sonia Friedman, Stephen Daldry, and Netflix. The Duffer brothers recently released the fourth season of Stranger Things and according to Netflix, it has topped Netflix's all-time Most Popular English TV list with 1.15 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days.

This is the only second series to cross the billion-hour viewing mark, with the final tally expected to be higher as the second volume of Stranger Things reaches the 28-day viewing period, the streaming giant said. The third season released in 2019 still holds third place on the all-time Most Popular English TV list.

The Duffer brothers said that Upside Down Pictures will "aim to create the kind of stores that inspired the Duffers growing up - stories that take place at that beautiful crossroads where the ordinary meets the extraordinary, where big spectacle co-exists with intimate character work, where heart wins out over cynicism". Producer Hilary Leavitt who worked on Orphan Black and Ozark has been hired to run Upside Down Pictures.

Netflix's co-CEO Ted Sarandos said that the Duffer brothers are an "exceptionally unique talent with a vision so crisp and clear". "They are all about the details -- it's not an accident that Stranger Things has pierced the zeitgeist to become the epic pop culture phenomenon it is today. We are excited to continue telling new stories with them as they grow Upside Down Pictures and to welcome Leavitt as a creative partner," Sarandos added.

In addition to the Stranger Things spin-offs, Upside Down Pictures will also be developing an all-new live-action TV adaptation of Japanese manga and anime series Death Note; an original series from creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews; and a series adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub's The Talisman alongside Steven Speilberg's Amblin Entertainment and Paramount TV.

Separately, Netflix Malaysia blurred the line between reality and fiction recently by bringing the Upside Down from Stranger Things to the heart of Kuala Lumpur. As part of the #BalikKeTerbalik experience, the dark forces from the Upside Down "threatened" to take over KL Tower and Kwai Chai Hong.

KL Tower served as a canvas for the Upside Down upon sundown with a projection show teasing scenes from the third and fourth seasons, before the Rift cracked open and unleashed the monstrosities that had been lying in wait in the Upside Down.

Meanwhile, just a few kilometres away was a mural installation at Kwai Chai Hong which has been sectioned into different "rooms" inspired by key moments from the past seasons. By nightfall, the Upside Down becomes apparent as the mirror dimension's monsters such as the Demogorgon, Mind Flayer and Vecna light up.

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