When Stranger Things premiered on Netflix, no one predicted it would become the phenomenal smash hit that it is today. How many other Netflix shows get teased during the Super Bowl?
That success was not anticipated, but that’s not the only surprise the creative team of the Duffer Brothers and Shawn Levy received from the first season.
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Stranger Things’ second season will expand the cast with new additions such as Sadie Sink, Power Rangers‘ Dacre Montgomery, and veteran actor Sean Astin. But they’re also going to focus on the breakout characters from the first slate of episodes, including Joe Keery’s Steve Harrington.
While speaking with Mashable about the new additions to the cast, Levy revealed that Keery’s role was initially going to be much smaller but warranted an expansion based on the actor’s strong performance while filming.
I will say that we have found the performances of our actors consistently inspiring, and bringing in people like Sean Astin; this new kid, Dacre Montgomery; this new kid, Sadie Sink… as we’ve seen the work they’re doing in episodes, the Duffers, recognizing strength, are making sure to service those characters even more over the course of the whole season… Perfect example, in Season 1, Steve Harrington was going to be a much more sparsely-used character. We saw what Joe Keery was doing, and we rewarded that with more story, more nuance, more dimension. The same thing is happening with a lot of the new characters this year.
It’s interesting to think that such a pivotal character to the story was never intended to have a big role, but Steve was one of the fan favorites due to his smarmy and endearing charm.
Steve’s presence toward the end of the first season contributed to the drama and budding chemistry between Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers, played by Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton respectively. We’re excited to see that dynamic explored when Stranger Things season 2 hits the streaming platform October 31.
The first season of Stranger Things starred Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, Cara Buono, Charlie Heaton, and Matthew Modine. The second season will feature Sadie Sink as Max, a tough and confident girl whose appearance, behavior and pursuits seem more typical of boys than of girls in this era, and Power Rangers star Dacre Montgomery as Billy, Max’s hyper-confident, and edgy older step-brother.
Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer (Wayward Pines, Hidden) serve as writer, directors and co-showrunners of the series, and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen via their 21 Laps entertainment banner (The Spectacular Now, Night At The Museum, Real Steel, Date Night). Shawn Levy also serves as director.
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