It was *really* important to the “Stranger Things” creators that the kids curse
Like most kids in real life — without their parents’ permission, of course — the Stranger Things kids are no strangers to curse words. Throughout the first season of the series, 12-year-olds Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and Will *definitely* experiment with grown-up language, which was very important, according to series creators the Duffer brothers and producer Shawn Levy.
In an awesome Twitter campaign, #StrangerThursdays, the cast and crew of the hit Netflix series are sharing behind-the-scenes exclusives with fans. In a video posted to Twitter, the Duffer brothers and Levy revealed that having the pre-teens swear was incredibly important to them — so important that they ended up having the kids swear more than anyone else.
The Duffer Brothers had a very important demand when creating Stranger Things. #StrangerThursdays pic.twitter.com/cRMEi8nBmC
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) August 3, 2017
"The original pilot script has f-bombs all the time," Ross Duffer said. "Not necessarily from the children but...Joyce is just cursing throughout the entire pilot episode. It was very R-rated and then basically, we ended up being asked to take it all out. It was more important for us to have the children be able to curse."
Matt Duffer added, “Yes, so we took all the cursing away from the adults and gave it all to the children.”
According to the brothers and Levy, the authenticity of pre-teens experimenting with cursing was their primary reason for insisting the kids curse. It helps that it’s also hilarious.
"Everyone wanted it to feel authentic and so I think once these kids, these words coming out of their mouths, it felt authentic," Matt said. "And then Gaten [Matarazzo] screaming 'shit' is just gold. It's comedy gold."
#StrangerThursdays, which kicked off today, is a massive social media rewatch of the first season of the series. Every Thursday, biggest moments and behind-the scenes-secrets from a specific episode are revealed, as well as exclusives from the upcoming second season.
Here’s a bit more from #StrangerThursdays:
8 episodes. 8 weeks. Tons of secrets.
Welcome to #StrangerThursdays. pic.twitter.com/EyltGU1hOh— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) August 3, 2017
A quick read between takes. Lessons in monster hunting, by @DavidKHarbour. #BTS #StrangerThursdays pic.twitter.com/NVbUu1LAD8
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) August 3, 2017
The crew loved early mornings with Millie. #BTS #StrangerThursdays pic.twitter.com/sqUxcxKqwA
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) August 3, 2017
How cool is Steve? @joe_keery weighs in. pic.twitter.com/8V69sloRCk
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) August 3, 2017
It’s such a great way for us to relive the magic of Stranger Things Season 1 while keeping us occupied before the second season drops on Netflix on October 27th!
