Is ‘Stranger Things’ Based On A True Story?

Netflix‘s biggest show is finally back. After three long years, Stranger Things has finally returned with brand new episodes.

The new season marks the beginning of the Hawkins gang’s final battle. Set in 1987, the gang has one final chance to defeat Vecna. He may have vanished after the events of Season 4, but the gang can still feel him haunting their every move. And with the government closing in on Eleven just as the anniversary of Will’s disappearance looms overhead, there is no avoiding this deadly battle anymore.

“The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before,” reads the Stranger Things Season 5 summary. “To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.”

The show has cemented itself as one of Netflix’s greatest series of all time. While there are many aspects of the show that are clearly inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, is Stranger Things based on a true story?

Is Stranger Things based on a true story?

Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer recently told FOX4 that they first began working on the story after watching Denis Villeneuve’s 2013 movie Prisoners. The dark thriller follows the disappearance of two young girls, leading to a dead-end investigation that drives a father to take matters into his own hands.

Ross said they were interested in exploring a developing a long-form series that uncovers a town-wide search for a child. They “combined” the idea with a conspiracy theory they were toying with for another project, called the Montauk Project.

The Montauk Project was a top-secret military operation based in Montauk, New York, where the U.S. government allegedly kidnapped children and conducted psychological experiments on them during the Cold War. Conspiracy theorists believe the project aimed at developing modes of time travel, mind control and other similar abilities.

“And we went, well, what if we just combine these ideas? What if a monster took this kid?… And that was really how Stranger Things was birthed,” Ross said.

The Duffer brothers have also previously shared they were heavily inspired by the works of Stephen King and Steven Spielberg.

Now, fans can tune into Season 5, Volume 1. The next three episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 will premiere on Christmas at 5 p.m. ET, and the big finale will premiere on New Year’s Eve at 5 p.m. ET.