Paul Reiser & Sean Astin Join 'Stranger Things' Season 2

Production has started on “Stranger Things” season 2, and with the storyline leaping forward to 1984, and additional characters coming along for the journey into the Upside Down, we’re going to see some new faces on the show. And Matt and Ross Duffer, who gave Winona Ryder one of the best roles of her career, and a great part of the underrated David Harbour, continue their knack for surprising casting.

READ MORE: Producer Shawn Levy Says They’re Not “Going To Cater To Everything People Want” In ‘Stranger Things’ Season 2

Sean Astin, Paul Reiser, and Danish star Linnea Berthelsen have signed up for “Stranger Things” season 2, and their roles are pretty interesting. Astin will play the nerdy manager of a RadioShack, who was also former high school classmates with Joyce and Hopper, while Reiser will play Dr. Owens, who leads a team from the Department Of Energy who is “cleaning up” what happened last season. Lastly, Berthelsen will play a woman who lives outside of Hawkins, who is nonetheless connected to the strange happenings that are going on.

Astin, best known for “Rudy” and “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy probably hasn’t had a role this good in years, and while Reiser has been collecting a string of great supporting roles (“Whiplash,” “Behind The Candelabra“) it’s nice to see him get in the spotlight in one of the hottest shows on TV right now.

What other secrets will we find out in the weeks and months ahead? Hopefully not too much because it’d be nice to go into the second season of “Stranger Things” as cold as we did the first time around. [THR]