EXCLUSIVE: Matt and Ross Duffer, creators of Netflix’s cultural phenomenon Stranger Things, are set to receive the Visionary Tribute at this year’s Gotham Television Awards, taking place on Monday, June 1st at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

The ceremony’s Visionary Tribute recognizes boundary-pushing work that will inspire the next generation of storytellers. The Duffers are being recognized for Stranger Things — a genre-bender that over its five seasons solidified its status as a cultural touchstone, wrapping up its run on New Year’s Eve 2025.

“With Stranger Things, Matt and Ross Duffer built a world entirely their own and reimagined the possibilities of event storytelling,” said The Gotham Executive Director Jeffrey Sharp. “The Visionary Tribute recognizes boundary-pushing work that will inspire the next generation, and Matt and Ross have created a defining cultural force that reshaped the television landscape. We are proud to celebrate their singular contribution at this year’s Gotham Television Awards.”

Stranger Things quickly broke out as one of the most influential and widely celebrated series of the streaming era following its 2016 debut. Blending science fiction, horror, and coming-of-age drama, the show follows a group of young friends in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, as they confront supernatural forces and secret government experiments. Earning 12 Emmys from 57 nominations, the show is one of Netflix’s biggest of all time, with its fourth season specifically ranking as its fourth most popular.

Today, the Duffers unveil the animated Netflix spin-off series Stranger Things: Tales from ’85. They recently exec produced Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen and The Boroughs — two of this year’s genre buzz titles in television — and last August, they inked a four-year deal making Paramount their new home in film and television.

Additional honorees for the upcoming Gotham Television Awards will be revealed in the coming weeks. Nominees in competitive categories will be announced on April 28.