Strangest Thing season 1

Strangest Thing
Season 1
File:Strangest Thing S1 poster.jpg Promotional poster
Showrunners	Ethan Krantz Leila Baines
Starring	Emily Keene Jackson Mateo Oscar Lin Julia Park Cameron Drew Amari Hart
No. of episodes	8
Release
Original network	Netflix
Original release	October 11, 2024 (2024-10-11)

The first season of the American science fiction, horror drama television series Strangest Thing premiered worldwide on the streaming service Netflix on October 11, 2024. The series was created by Ethan Krantz, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside Leila Baines and Connor Price.

The season stars Emily Keene, Jackson Mateo, Oscar Lin, Julia Park, Cameron Drew, and Amari Hart. Set in the fictional town of Grange Hill, Oregon, in 1992, the season follows a group of teenagers who investigate a bizarre meteor impact, uncovering a Cold War-era research program called The Echo Protocol. As strange disappearances, memory anomalies, and hallucinations escalate, they meet Iris, a mysterious girl with fractured psychic abilities who may hold the key to stopping a collapse of reality.

The first season received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its atmospheric tone, suspenseful storytelling, performances (particularly Keene and Mateo), and its effective blend of science fiction and psychological horror. It was also noted for its layered homage to 1980s and 1990s media and existential genre influences.

Premise

The first season is set in the summer of 1992 in Grange Hill, a quiet town nestled in the Oregon mountains. After a strange meteor crashes near Hollow Ridge, a wave of unexplained phenomena begins to unfold — static interference, shifting memories, vanishing people. Six teenagers — Kit, Rowan, Asha, Danny, Leon, and June — stumble upon a long-abandoned government facility known locally as "The Below."

Their search leads them to Iris, a girl who cannot remember her past and possesses unstable telepathic powers. As the group delves deeper into a forgotten Cold War experiment called The Echo Protocol, they discover that a breach between dimensions has begun — one that threatens to unravel time, memory, and identity itself. Together, they must survive temporal distortions, monstrous entities, and a hostile agency determined to keep the truth buried.

Cast and characters

See also: List of Strangest Thing characters

Main cast

• Emily Keene as Iris
• Jackson Mateo as Kit Hargrove
• Oscar Lin as Rowan Lee
• Julia Park as Asha Cho
• Cameron Drew as Danny Vale
• Amari Hart as June Collins

Recurring

• Victor Sanz as Dr. Raynor Black
• Lena Wu as Agent Yara Quinn
• Desmond Rhys as Officer Colin Hargrove
• Ellie Brandt as Grace Collins
• Travis Knox as Principal Morrow
• Mira Das as Lexa, a hacker and conspiracy theorist

Episodes

Main article: List of Strangest Thing episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Chapter One: The Empty"	Ethan Krantz	Ethan Krantz	October 11, 2024 (2024-10-11)
On July 17, 1992, in the mountain town of Grange Hill, Oregon, a meteor crashes into nearby Hollow Ridge during a violent electrical storm, triggering widespread power outages and static anomalies across the town. The next morning, teenager Kit Hargrove sees a shadowy figure watching him from the woods before it vanishes. Kit and his friends—Rowan Lee, Asha Cho, Danny Vale, June Collins, and Leon Black—discuss strange occurrences tied to the meteor, including a missing hiker, flickering electronics, and repeating dreams. Rowan’s father, an amateur radio technician, discovers garbled transmissions recorded during the blackout, which appear to include a girl’s voice saying, “I don’t know where I am.” At a gas station outside town, a dazed girl with a shaved head and no ID wanders in before fleeing into the forest as police arrive. Kit and June later find her hiding near a collapsed service tunnel; she calls herself "Iris" but remembers little else. That night, the group listens to the radio again and hears the same distorted phrase—this time spoken aloud in Iris’s voice, though she hasn’t opened her mouth.

Production

Development

Strangest Thing was developed by Ethan Krantz, who described the series as a "psychological sci-fi fable about identity and recursion." Netflix greenlit the project in early 2023, with Krantz teaming up with executive producer Leila Baines and genre producer Connor Price. The series was pitched as "Donnie Darko meets Akira by way of Twin Peaks", with influences from David Lynch, Hideaki Anno, Guillermo del Toro, and Andrei Tarkovsky.

Filming took place primarily in British Columbia between March and July 2024. Several practical effects were utilized to create a surreal visual language for the dimension known as the Shatter, with cinematography drawing from 90s film grain and VHS overlays. The showrunners emphasized using practical lighting and analog distortion techniques over CGI whenever possible.

Writing

Season 1 was written in a serialized format, with each episode building a chapter in an overarching mystery. Krantz stated that the story was deliberately structured to mimic recursive logic — “loops within loops” — with memory as a central theme. The character of Iris was inspired by discussions around trauma-induced dissociation and metaphysical amnesia. The Echo Protocol storyline draws loose inspiration from MK-Ultra, but expands into metaphysics and nonlinear time.

Music

The synth-driven score was composed by Kyle Vernon and features analog synth textures reminiscent of Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, and Boards of Canada. The series also features licensed music from The Smashing Pumpkins, Depeche Mode, Sonic Youth, and Mazzy Star.

Reception

Critical response

Season 1 received acclaim from critics, holding a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 8.4/10. The consensus reads: "Smart, chilling, and ambitious, Strangest Thing earns its title with a mesmerizing descent into cosmic horror and emotional memory — powered by a compelling young cast."

On Metacritic, the season scored 81 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim." Praise was directed toward the show's slow-burn pacing, unsettling imagery, and complex characters, especially Keene’s performance as Iris and Mateo’s portrayal of Kit.

Accolades

Strangest Thing was nominated for four Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2025, including Outstanding Cinematography, Main Title Design, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects. Emily Keene received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Streaming Series.

Home media

The first season was released on Blu-ray and 4K UHD on March 25, 2025, featuring behind-the-scenes featurettes and audio commentary on all eight episodes.