Stranger Things is a show about kids living in a sleepy midwestern town that just so happens to be the location of a government experiment gone catastrophically wrong, one that punctures the veil between this world and the next and lets unholy monsters invade our reality. Stranger Things wears its influences on its sleeve, drawing liberally from all things 1980s, particularly the works of Stephen King and Steven Spielberg. But writer Charlie Kessler thought it went deeper than that, and sued Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer for allegedly stealing his idea for a sci-fi show set near an abandoned military base. A lot of his case was based on a conversation he had with the Duffers at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2014. The Duffers filed a motion for summary judgment, but Los Angeles Superior Judge Michael Stern rejected it, and the case was scheduled to go to trial tomorrow.
Only it won’t. Deadline reports that Kessler has dropped his suit. He sounds contrite in a statement:
"After hearing the deposition testimony this week of the legal expert I hired, it is now apparent to me that, whatever I may have believed in the past, my work had nothing to do with the creation of Stranger Things. Documents from 2010 and 2013 prove that the Duffers independently created their show. As a result, I have withdrawn my claim and I will be making no further comment on this matter."
Is it weird that the judge thought there was enough evidence to go to trial but the plaintiff himself didn’t? Just be looking out to see if Kessler has a writing credit on Stranger Things season 4, is all I’m saying.
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Naturally, Netflix is thrilled at this turn of events:
"We are glad to be able to put this baseless lawsuit behind us. As we have said all along, Stranger Things is a ground-breaking original creation by The Duffer Brothers. We are proud of this show and of our friends Matt and Ross, whose artistic vision gave life to Stranger Things, and whose passion, imagination and relentless hard work alongside our talented cast and crew made it a wildly successful, award-winning series beloved by viewers around the world."
The third season of Stranger Things drops on Netflix July 4. Apart from whether Kessler would have won at trial, the proceedings threatened to reveal spoilers for season 3, which would have been the real miscarriage of justice.
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