The Duffer Brothers, Emmy-nominated filmmakers known for their massive hit Netflix series “Stranger Things,” will return to their alma mater to deliver Chapman University’s commencement address.
Twins Matt and Ross Duffer, 42, hail from the university’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts — Class of 2007 — and during the commencement ceremony at Wilson Field in Orange, will receive honorary doctorates.
“Matt and Ross Duffer represent the very best of Chapman — bold storytellers who turned their creative vision into work that has captivated audiences around the world,” Chapman University President Matt Parlow said in a statement. “Their journey from Dodge College to globally recognized creators is a powerful example for our graduates as they prepare to shape their own futures.”
Born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, the Duffer Brothers were early film fanatics, reportedly creating their first feature film in the fourth grade. At Dodge College, they delivered several short films, including “We All Fall Down,” a 17th-century period piece that nabbed the Best Short award at the 2005 Deep Ellum Film Festival in Dallas.
But it was “Stranger Things,” which first aired in July 2016 and recently ended its 9-year run with a final season released in December, that earned the brothers global acclaim. Iconic for its 1980s nostalgia, the series helped launch the careers of several of its young cast members and brought Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” back to the mainstream.
In 2022, the brothers launched their production company, Upside Down Pictures, and currently they’re producing West End and Broadway productions of the Tony Award-winning “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.” Other upcoming projects include a live-action “Stranger Things” spin-off and an animated series, “Stranger Things: Tales from ’85,” as well as two Netflix original series, “The Boroughs” and “Something Very Bad is Going to Happen.”
The brothers will deliver the keynote address at 7 p.m. on May 22, at Wilson Field.
Chapman University’s commencement weekend will run through May 24 and honor more than 3,000 Class of 2026 graduates, including approximately 850 earning advanced degrees across the university’s 11 schools and colleges.