Winona Ryder Makes Massive Amount for Every ‘Stranger Things’ Episode

The rise of streaming services over the traditional networks has lead to some major changes in how television gets made, including the paychecks that Hollywood’s top stars can demand for their performances. While Friends made news when its six main stars earned $1 million per episode, the astronomical paychecks are becoming more commonplace. Variety did a deep dive into how much Hollywood’s top television actors are making per episode and some of the data may surprise you.

Stranger Things stars Winona Ryder and David Harbour both made the list, earning between $350k -$400k per episode of the Netflix megahit. Millie Bobby Brown is in the same pay range per episode, while the rest of the young cast earns about $150k per episode. The role of Joyce Byers kickstarted a new phase of Ryder’s career, and fans of Stranger Things can’t wait to see what happens to the stalwart mother in season 4.

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait a little longer than expected for the next season. Netflix confirmed in a new 10-second teaser for the season that it will debut in 2022 — at least two-and-a-half years after the July 2019 release of Season 3. The new teaser features footage from the first three seasons of the hugely popular supernatural series mixed with quick glances at Season 4 footage. Any hits about the next season are kept locked down tight, early reports say that it will be the darkest season yet.

The first Season 4 trailer, which came in February of 2020, teased the return of Harbour’s Chief Jim Hopper. Another trailer, released in May 2021, focused on Eleven and hinted at the return of Dr. Martin Brenner. The reason for the delay can likely be pinned on the coronavirus pandemic. A month after production on Stranger Things Season 4 started in February 2020, it was suspended due to shutdowns. It resumed in September 2020.

At the end of Season 3, following the explosion aimed at destroying the Soviet lab to the Upside Down deep under the new Starcourt Mall, Joyce Byers (Ryder) takes her sons (Charlie Heaton, Noah Schnapp) and Eleven (Brown) out of the Indiana town to start a new life. There is a jump in geography in the final scene, which takes place in the far Eastern end of the USSR where guards are feeding a prisoner to an imprisoned Demogorgon, but “not the American.”

Last year, stunt coordinator Niro Koda told ComicBook.com that the new season is “darker. It’s going to be epic. [There are] lots of great surprises and all your favorite people are in it.” Koda continued, “It’s going to be so good. It’s so epic. I’ve gotten to read through almost eight scripts now, so it’s pretty awesome. I don’t know how many we’re going to get.”