The buzz is reaching a crescendo for the Season 4 of Stranger Things on Netflix. After three very successful seasons, the sci-fi horror drama series returned for a much anticipated fourth in late May 2022. Seven episodes were released in total, with a final two due to arrive on July 1, 2022.So far, those episodes have received top marks in ratings from audiences as well as critics. It is just reward for creators of the show, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, who drew inspiration for the story from various works by master of horror, Stephen King.Although they are reaping the fruits of their labor now, it was never an easy journey to take Stranger Things from the page to the screen.RELATED: Stranger Things 4: Which Young Cast Member Is The Richest Now?

9 Who Are 'Stranger Things' Creators, Matt And Ross Duffer?

Professionally known as the Duffer brothers, Matt and Ross are identical twins, born on February 15, 1984 in Durham, North Carolina. They attended Duke School and Charles E. Jordan High School before then studying film at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in Orange, California.

Ross has been married to director Leigh Janiak since 2015, while Matt is currently not in any publicly known relationship.

8 What Is The Premise Of Stranger Things?

The official log-line for Stranger Things on Netflix reads: "When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl."

The series cast is made up of - among others - Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, and Millie Bobby Brown, who landed the role somewhat out of the blue in 2015.

7 The Duffer Brothers Apprenticed Under M. Night Shyamalan

After making a number of short films, Matt and Ross Duffer worked on their first debut feature titled Hidden, a psychological thriller in which they tried to emulate the style of famous filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan.

When word got to the Indian-born director, he invited them to work under him on Fox's Wayward Pines. Following a four-episode apprenticeship in Season 1, the brothers felt that they were ready to develop their own show.

RELATED: M. Night Shyamalan Tricked Audiences To Promote One Of His Most Famous Films, Here's How

6 How The Duffer Brothers First Wrote Stranger Things

Inspired by Stephen King's novels Firestarter and Carrie, wrote a script that mirrored the eventual series pilot, as well as a visual guide to help them pitch the show.

"We wrote one script for it, and then we made a 20-page pitch book, where we took an old Stephen King book cover, and we had a lot of imagery from a lot of the movies that we’re referencing," Matt said in a 2016 interview with the New York Times, discussing the show.

5 The Duffer Brothers Pitched Stranger Things To More Than 15 Networks

Despite their hard work on the pilot script and the pitch book, at least 15 networks passed on the concept, demanding that the brothers change some core elements of the story.

"The first week, I think, we had 15 pitches, and it was all passes," Matt said in the NY Times interview. "We were told you cannot put kids in the lead roles of a show that’s not intended for a kid audience."

4 Shawn Levy Intervened To Give The Duffer Brothers Their Big Breakthrough

Following the string of disappointments for Ross and Matt Duffer, hope eventually came their way in the form of Night at the Museum director, Shawn Levy. The Stranger Things script was brought to his attention by the VP of his 21 Laps Entertainment production company.

Impressed with what he saw, he invited the brothers to their office and bought the rights to the story. Matt and Ross, however, retained authorship of the story.

RELATED: The Duffer Brothers' Treatment Of Sadie Sink On 'Stranger Things' Almost Got Them Canceled

3 Netflix Was The 'Dream Home' For Stranger Things

The Duffer brothers had not pitched to Netflix as they went through the list of 15 networks who rejected them at the start. As soon as Shawn Levy and 21 Laps were on board, however, the streamer was their first pit stop in 2015.

"Netflix was the first buyer we pitched to. By the next morning they bought the season," Levy said to Variety Magazine in 2016. "Netflix was our dream home."

2 What Was The Original Title Of Stranger Things?

When Matt and Ross Duffer worked on the script and pitch book for their show, they had titled it Montauk, after the New York-based town. Montauk is subject to a number of conspiracy theories, and it is where the Duffers' story was originally set.

They later changed the setting to the fictional Hawkins, and therefore sought out a new title for the series altogether.

1 Have The Duffer Brothers Ever Worked On Any Individual Projects?

In most instances where siblings find fame in the same industry, one will end up living in the shadow of the other. This has not been the case with the Duffer brothers, who have only ever worked together.

"We’ve only ever worked together. [Even] the movies we watched growing up, we watched together," Matt said in an interview from 2017.

NEXT: Stranger Things: Everything We Know About The Cast Before The Show