Stranger Things' David Harbour admits he didn't think the show would be successful
It's the most-watched English-language TV series in Netflix history
With the release of Stranger Things season four after a long three-year wait, the series has become even more popular than ever, breaking a record previously held by Bridgerton. However in a recent interview, actor David Harbour who plays Jim Hopper, has admitted he didn't think it would be a hit.
Speaking on The One Show, when asked if he thought it would be a success he said: "Not at all. I remember when we were shooting the first season. We were down in Atlanta, Netflix had given us a budget of about $20 and we thought halfway through... I remember my hair person coming up to me, about episode 4 we were shooting, and she said, 'I don't think it's going to work'."
The actor continued: "So by the time we wrapped, I thought we wouldn't get a second season, we'd be the first Netflix show ever to never get a second season. We thought no one would watch it, it was going to be a disaster."
In fact, David wasn't alone in his thoughts on the series, with Natalia Dyer, who plays Nancy Wheeler also revealing in an interview back in 2020 that she thought the series wouldn't be renewed for a second season.
"Nobody knew if it was going to get picked up again after we finished filming season one," she told The Independent: "There was really an air of, 'We might never see each other again'."
She went on to say: "No-one had any idea how successful the show would be. There was no preparation – there couldn't have been, even if we'd known. It was a surprising and overwhelming shock. Then it was like, 'OK, this is how it is now'."
However, luckily for David, Natalia and the rest of the cast and crew they were wrong! After season one of the show's release in 2016 it quickly became a very popular addition to the streaming giant Netflix.
What awards has Stranger Things won?
Stranger Things went on to win several awards (just for the first season) including five Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards including ones for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Main Title Design, and Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.
In total the series has been nominated for 51 Primetime Emmy Awards (winning seven), four Golden Globe Awards and three Grammy Awards.
What happened in Stranger Things seasons one to four?
Stranger Things seasons one to four are now available to stream on Netflix and you can check out our recap of the series here.
Take a look through some Stranger Things facts you probably didn't know:
1)
To help sell the show, the Duffers edited a mock 'trailer' combining clips from over 25 feature films, including E.T., Nightmare on Elm Street, Super 8 and Halloween.
2)
The composers of the Stranger Things soundtrack (Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon) were two members of an Austin synth band called SURVIVE; their music was featured in the soundtrack of the film The Guest.
3)
Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon have written over 13 hours of music for the show.
4)
Winona Ryder wanted her hairstyle modeled after Meryl Streep's hair in Silkwood.
5)
The title sequence was inspired by the work of Richard Greenberg, who designed a number of classic 80s title sequences including Alien, Altered States, Superman and The Goonies - which starred a young Sean Astin, who later appeared in Stranger Things as Joyce's boyfriend Bob Newby.
6)
Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner) have appeared together once before, in the music video for Roy Orbison's 'A Love So Beautiful'.
7)
Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) and Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) have both acted on Broadway. Gaten played Gavroche in Les Miserables and Caleb played Young Simba in The Lion King. The two boys knew each other but they didn't become close friends until after working on Stranger Things.
8)
Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers) and Millie Brown (Eleven) are both from the UK. Charlie is from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, and Millie is from Bournemouth, Dorset.
9)
To help sell the show, the Duffers created a 'look book' which was designed in the style of a vintage Stephen King novel.
10)
Gaten's voice changed so much by the time production ended that the sound team were unable to use him for additional dialogue recording.
11)
Although the show was shot digitally on the RED Dragon, a layer of real film grain was applied to help achieve a more vintage look.
12)
It was Caleb's request to wear a camouflage bandana in the show; he wears it for the final three episodes.
13)
The monster was achieved through a combination of prosthetics, animatronics, performance and CG.
14)
The toddlers on set were very scared by the 'monster', but they were calmed when told that he was just like the monsters in Monsters Inc.
15)
Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, is a film buff and wants to be a director when he grows up. He is a particular fan of Sam Raimi's early work.
16)
The gang really did create a salt bath, and Millie Bobby Brown actually floated - there were no effects used! To get Millie to float in a kiddie pool, twelve hundred pounds of epsom salt were dissolved into the water.
17)
Before starting the show, the writers all watched (or rewatched) a large list of films, including E.T., Stand By Me, The Goonies, The Thing and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
18)
Millie had to shave most of her hair off for the show and as can be expected of any 11Â-year-old girl this was a terrifying prospect. The Duffers showed her how cool Charlize Theron looked in Mad Max: Fury Road after which Millie agreed to it.
19)
The Duffers had all the boys audition with scenes from Stand By Me.
20)
Hopper's trailer was purchased by the art department for $1.
21)
For some of the laboratory scenes, Millie (Eleven) was fully submerged in an underwater immersion tank. She was able to breathe by wearing a Sea Trek helmet, which weighs approximately 70 lbs above water; it weighs 15 lbs beneath the surface of the water. The helmet was designed for shallow 'underwater walking'.
22)
To direct Millie while she was underwater, the Duffers communicated with her through a small radio in her ear.
Now read:
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Everything you need to know about Stranger Things season 4 Volume 2
Stranger Things fans notice a heartbreaking reason Will is so upset in Season 4 Volume 1