From Jordan To Hawkins: How JHS Cultivated The Duffer Brothers

The Duffer brothers, known for creating the hit series Stranger Things, are among Jordan’s most notable alumni. With the series beginning in 2016, they have won multiple prestigious awards, including over 50 Emmy nominations and a Bram Stoker Award for Screenplay.

Duffer Brothers with their car in the Jordan student lot

They have credited part of their success to their time at Jordan during the early 2000s with Ms. Hope Hynes Love (then known as Ms. Hynes), their drama teacher, who now teaches at East Chapel Hill High School.

“The Duffers were part of an experimental writing group which produced a work called ‘Class’ which, in my opinion, was so on the nose about the issues facing students at Jordan. We were banned from presenting it on our stage,” Love said. “As juniors, the boys asked if they could collect footage of the trajectory---from auditions to performance---of a high school musical production. I said yes and the work that came out of that project was their portfolio for Chapman (University) admission.

Duffer Brothers on the set of 'Stranger Things' with Hope Hynes Love

“I think our, perhaps, naive attitude of, ‘Sure. Why not? Let's see... and even if we fail, we'll fail hard and learn something in the process,’ probably gave them some practice at maintaining an attitude which protects their artistic integrity and voice while navigating the ups and downs of the business side of making art.”

Hynes Love played such an important role in the lives of the Duffers, that they cast her in the role of a teacher, Ms. Harris, in the latest season of Stranger Things, an experience she calls “thrilling and flattering.”

Stranger Things 5, Volume 2, is set to premiere on Netflix on December 25th at 8:00pm. We have reached out to the talent agency that represents the Duffer brothers, but have never heard back on our request for an interview.