Overview
- In a conversation with radio host John Mingione, Matt and Ross Duffer confirmed their early concept drew directly from Montauk Project tales.
- The series was initially pitched under the working title Montauk with Season 1 envisioned on eastern Long Island before the setting shifted to Hawkins, Indiana.
- They said core motifs—experiments on children, alternate dimensions, monsters, and secret government labs—remained in the show's DNA despite the relocation.
- The name was changed after concerns that Montauk might be difficult for some viewers to pronounce.
- Coverage recaps the Montauk Project’s widely debunked claims of covert U.S. experiments at Camp Hero and notes the confirmation surfaced as Netflix released the final season in three drops on Nov. 26, Dec. 26, and Dec. 31.