Duffer Brothers Name Josh Stern President of Upside Down Pictures
Matt and Ross Duffer have appointed Josh Stern as president of Upside Down Pictures, their production company now housed under an exclusive deal at Paramount. The hire puts a veteran television executive in charge of the banner that will carry the Duffers' next wave of projects across film, TV and direct-to-consumer. Deadline
The Duffers signed a four-year overall deal with Paramount that began in April 2026. Under that arrangement — an "overall deal" meaning the producers create content exclusively for one studio across every format — they develop projects through Upside Down Pictures, making Stern the day-to-day steward of the slate. Deadline
Stern arrives with a deep development résumé. Most recently he served as EVP Television at Peter Chernin's North Road, the production company behind films and series for streamers and studios. Before that, he was the New York-based creative lead at wiip, the independent studio whose credits include the Peabody-winning Apple TV series Dickinson, created by Alena Smith, which Stern executive produced. Deadline
His eye for material runs wide. At wiip, Stern developed Safe Houses, created by Gideon Raff and starring Ana de Armas and Jennifer Connelly, and The Off Weeks, created by Alissa Nutting with Ben Stiller and Jessica Chastain attached, bound for Apple TV. At North Road, he executive produced Quinn Shephard's upcoming drama series The Body, which premieres on Netflix in November. Deadline
Earlier, Stern spent time as Director of Development at Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Pictures. There he oversaw development on The Whale and Mother! and developed and executive produced Jackie and The Good Nurse — a run that spans prestige drama and awards-season contenders. Deadline
Stern's move from North Road was set in motion in August 2024, when North Road's President of TV Amy Israel assembled her creative executive team by hiring him from wiip alongside Jamie Pross. Deadline
For the Duffers, the appointment fills a key structural role as they transition from their Netflix-defining run on Stranger Things into a broader Paramount-based operation. Stern's track record sits at the intersection of prestige film and streaming television — exactly the terrain Upside Down Pictures is built to cover.
What makes the hire worth watching is the pipeline it connects. Stern has shepherded projects starring Natalie Portman, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Chastain and Ana de Armas. The Duffers have built one of the most recognised brands in modern genre television. Whether that combination yields the next Stranger Things-scale phenomenon or a slate of quieter prestige plays is a question the calendar will answer.
