TV Article Stranger Things: See the terrifying first 8 minutes of Netflix's new series — exclusive Get your first look at the homage to genre films of the 1980s dropping this Friday By Tim Stack Tim Stack Tim Stack is a former senior writer at Entertainment Weekly. He left EW in 2019. EW's editorial guidelines Published on July 14, 2016 04:00PM EDT Photo: Netflix Something strange is happening in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, the setting of Netflix’s Stranger Things ... annnnnd we’re not talking about “Pokemon Go” obsession. Ahead of its premiere this Friday, July 15, EW has the exclusive first 8 minutes, above, of the horror homage created by identical twins The Duffer Brothers (Hidden). Things is set in the Midwest in 1983 and focuses on a group of Dungeons & Dragons-playing teens (Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin) whose town is rocked by a series of mysterious disappearances. In this opening sequence, you’ll not only meet the core group of boys who become the heroes but also get a glimpse of the otherworldy monster who causes much of the terror. Stranger Things also stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, and Noah Schnapp.