‘Stranger Things 5’: David Harbour and Winona Ryder Will Get Huge Pay Bumps

Stranger Things 5 stars David Harbour and Winona Ryder will reportedly get huge pay bumps for the hit sci-fi show’s next season. According to The Direct, the two adult Stranger Things leads will be making $9.5 million each across all eight episodes of Season 5. The outlet also noted that this is up from the $350,000 per episode that Harbour and Ryder were paid in Season 3, equaling about $2.8 million for the season.

Younger Stranger Things actors Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, and Sadie Sink will each earn over $7 million for Season 5. Next, Natalia Dyer, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, and Charlie Heaton have signed new contracts worth over $6 million. Finally, additional stars of the show will have new contract deals as well, though those are not specified and are said to be “much less” than what the aforementioned stars are making. Notably, series lead Millie Bobby Brown is not included in the contract renegotiations due to her overall contract with Netflix, which also includes the and other possible future projects.

Stranger Things Season 4 concluded on Netflix last summer, with fans everywhere loving the finale. Back in August 2021, Matt and Ross Duffer spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the show and clarified Season 4 is not planned to be the final season for Stranger Things, as previously speculated. “Season 4 won’t be the end. We know what the end is, and we know when it is,” said Ross. He continued, “[The COVID-19 pandemic] has given us time to look ahead, figure out what is best for the show. Starting to fill that out gave us a better idea of how long we need to tell that story.”

Ahead of the finale, members of the Stranger Things cast teased the dark fates in store for their characters in Season 4. Speaking exclusively to Entertainment Tonight, Natalie Dyer — who plays Nancy Wheeler — spoke about the show leaning more into horror territory. “There are characters who are in real, real danger,” Dyer said of the show’s direction this time around. “Like, we haven’t been in as high stakes or potential danger before. That was surprising and scary.” 

Newcomer Joseph Quinn, who plays older high school student Eddie Munson, added, “And [that’s] applicable to every storyline.” He continued, “It’s not just that one storyline is kind of the main artery. Every single storyline is kind of filled with peril and danger.” Seasons 1-4 of Stranger Things are now streaming in full on Netflix.