Just days before the trial was set, plaintiff Charlie Kessler withdraws plagiarism allegations made against Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ creators Matt and Ross Duffer.
As you’ll recall, back in April word spread that producer/writer/director Charlie Kessler was taking the Duffer brothers to court for allegedly stealing his ideas to create the now, hit Netflix show Stranger Things.
Kessler claimed to have met and shared ideas with the brothers in 2014, at the Tribeca Film Festival; which he said later served as inspiration for the creation the show. Kessler was demanding a third the shows prits, and following Superior Judge, Michael Stern’s denial a summary judgement for the defendants, the brothers were set to appear in court beginning May 6.
This Sunday, however, the plaintiff abruptly issued a statement revoking his claims. “After hearing the deposition testimony this week the legal expert I hired, it is now apparent to me that, whatever I may have believed in the past, my work had nothing to do with the creation Stranger Things,” Keseler stated. “Documents from 2010 and 2013 prove that the Duffers independently created their show. As a result, I have withdrawn my claim and I will be making no further comment on this matter.”
Netflix, who has been an advocate for the brothers’ innocence from the start the accusations, issued a statement following Kessler’s decision to drop charges, “We are glad to be able to put this baseless lawsuit behind us. As we have said all along, Stranger Things is a ground-breaking original creation by The Duffer Brothers.” They go on to say, “We are proud this show and our friends Matt and Ross, whose artistic vision gave life to Stranger Things, and whose passion, imagination and relentless hard work alongside our talented cast and crew made it a wildly successful, award-winning series beloved by viewers around the world.”
The whole mess has thankfully not affected the show’s return date, and it is still set to return to Netflix for its third season on July 4, 2019.