I know I’m a little late getting this review up, but it’s been a busy fall. I’ve had so many reviews to put out, but I finally got around to reviewing Season 1 of Stranger Things. Stranger Things is a sci-fi/horror television series created, written, directed and co-executive produced by the Duffer Brothers. The series stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, and Matthew Modine, with Noah Schnapp and Joe Keery in key recurring roles. The show is set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana during 1983 and focuses on the investigation into the disappearance of a young boy named Will Byers amid supernatural events occurring around the town including the appearance of a psychokinetic girl nicknamed Eleven, who helps the missing boy’s friends in their search for Will. I have to say that I really enjoyed watching this show. From the first episode, I was hooked and wanted to know everything about every character. Millie Bobby Brown is phenomenal as Eleven. Even though this is her first major role, her acting ability wowed me. Brown toes the line between adorable and scary and it works well. She has great chemistry with the boys, especially Mike. I’m very interested to see how her character evolves in Season 2. Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin and Noah Schnapp are all great as well and have great chemistry. Since the plot is about finding Will we don’t get to see much of Noah Schnapp after the first episode. Still, in the little bit of screentime, he gets you feel for him. Mike (Wolfhard) is a great leader to the group and balances well with Dustin’s (Matarazzo) comedy and Lucas’ (McLaughlin) levelheadedness. Winona Ryder and David Harbour pull off great performances as Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper respectively. The secondary characters are great as well and show much maturity throughout the season. The writers do a good job at combining comedic elements with serious situations. They also manage to fit in character growth in such a short amount of time. Will’s older brother Jonathan grows to be more social and confident. Mike’s older sister Nancy becomes friendlier and less concerned about popularity. While Steve grows to be more caring and less self-centered. The writers also do a great job at keeping the story and characters balanced. No character feels underutilized and I could relate to the secondary and tertiary characters because of this. This is what allows Barb, played by perfectly by Shannon Purser, to hold a special place in my heart even though she has significantly less screentime than the other characters. This season ended on an interesting cliffhanger that could go in many directions. I’m sure this was done on purpose as to leave more mystery to be exposed in later seasons. I give Stranger Things Season 1 a Superb 5/5. The Duffer Brothers do a fantastic job in fitting the show in the nostalgia of the ‘80s. Everything from the score to the directing was perfectly executed and builds the right amount of suspense. If necessary, the show can be binged in one day. Let’s hope they can recapture the same magic in Season 2!