Stranger Things owes a lot to Stephen King, but here's why it doesn't matter

Stranger Things Season 5 Volume II finally arrived on Netflix on Christmas as a holiday treat for the fans. Consisting of episodes five, six, and seven, the second batch of the final season followed the gang trying to find a way to bring down the mysterious flesh wall and find Holly, who was abducted by Vecna in Volume I. The release of Volume II has brought back a frequent fan conversation.

That of the influence of Stephen King on the popular Netflix sci-fi series. For Stephen King fans, it is beyond a shadow of doubt that the Duffer Brothers are influenced by the prolific horror author. They even acknowledged the influence of King on Stranger Things. However, here's why this influence is not a bad thing; in fact, the Netflix series may have helped several King projects.

Explaining Stephen King's influence on Stranger Things:

Stephen King has been a writer for nearly five decades. While he has written novels belonging to a wide range of genres, King is celebrated for his horror stories. Stranger Things, since its beginning, has been open about its Stephen King influence. Even the font the episode title cards use is very similar to that of the IT book.

Apart from the logo, children with psychic powers is a regular Stephen King trope that fans have lovingly mocked over the years. But despite heavily borrowing from the celebrated author, the sci-fi series has helped bring the world of Stephen King to a wider audience. While Hollywood Studios have adapted King novels in the past, it should be noted that those projects were hits and misses.

However, the Netflix sci-fi drama ushered in a "golden age" of Stephen King adaptations. While we did get a much-reviled adaptation of The Dark Tower in 2017, a year after Stranger Things, after that, we have had nothing but celebrated big/small-screen interpretations of his novels. In fact, the latest King adaptation, IT: Welcome to Derry, completed its eight-episode run just last week.

The Netflix series, which began in 2016, may have encouraged Hollywood studios to employ the best people to adapt King's novels. Even the author addressed his influence on Stranger Things in The Guardian interview in August 2025:

"I don't see it as a Stephen King story as much as some other people do. I think the Duffer Brothers give me more credit than I deserve. Like a lot of talented people, they grew up with my material. When they were young and malleable, they read a lot of Stephen King and said, 'We want to do something like that.' But they're very talented guys and the story they have developed has a lot more to it than Stephen King. It's got a lot of Duffer Brothers in it. It's good. I've seen all the episodes. I like it a lot."

What's next for the popular Netflix series?

The Netflix series is currently on its final season, which has been divided into three parts. The first two parts, or "volumes", consisting of seven episodes in total, are available on the platform. The group is up against Vecna, a mutated being who used to be a human named Henry Creel once upon a time.

“The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.”

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41 episodes of Stranger Things are streaming on Netflix. Rewatch them before the series finale streams next week.

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