Season one of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” came out of nowhere and became a pop culture phenomenon fast in the summer of 2016. By this point, Netflix had already had a big hit with 2013’s “House Of Cards,” which earned the company its first Emmy nominations. But even then, some didn’t really understand or know what Netflix or streaming was. Or at least Winona Ryder didn’t.
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According to an amusing new anecdote in the Happy Sad Confused podcast, director Shawn Levy, who is a producer and sometimes director on episodes of “Stranger Things,” when Ryder was first pitched the series, she really wasn’t sure what Netflix was.
“Winona opened our first meeting, the [Duffers Brothers] and I sat down and had tea with her. She opened by asking, ‘What is Netflix? What is streaming? Is it like TV but different?’ That was the starting point,” Levy said, he and the HSC host Josh Horowitz laughing at her innocence.
Horowitz then recalled that when Ryder joined him for a podcast interview, afterward, she asked, “Wait, was this a podcast? What did we just do?” Levy laughed and responded, “I adore that woman.”
Later in the podcast, Levy added, “Yeah, Winona took a little onboarding to explain this emerging form of storytelling called Netflix and streaming.” They both chuckled again, and it brings to mind, even for this writer, that meme of Ryder looking totally confused at the 2017 Emmys.
But if you think about the aforementioned timeline, it’s maybe not that weird. “Stranger Things” debuted in the summer of 2016, so it’s very possible, given TV development, they were casting and going out to actors as early as two years prior in 2014. Yes, Netflix had its first Emmy wins in 2013, but this was still in the early days of its ascension of creating original content. And not everyone is dialed in as those who read the trades every day, blogs, and follow pop culture religiously, so come to think of it, it’s actually kind of less quaint than you think ((you could even subtitle this piece, preemptive justice for Winona).
As for the final upcoming season of “Stranger Things,” Levy said, “I would love to see us go out on the biggest bang possible,” when asked if “Stranger Things” could come to cinemas for its finale, but made no promises.
As for those so-called “Stranger Things” spin-off shows? Well, Levy confirms they are a thing but has no real details other than pencils went down during the writer’s strike and need to be picked up.
“Along with the show itself, we’ve been in a long pause, we’ve emerged from the writer’s strike, we’re still in an acting strike, all of this needs to be picked up and reengaged [with],” he said. So, perhaps TBD for now, but they’re possibly still in the works for some time in the future. “Stranger Things” season 5 is expected sometime in the summer of 2024, but that could be further delayed because of the impact of the strikes.