Winona Ryder, 52, had no idea what NETFLIX was before she signed on to star in Stranger Things, the series’ director reveals – recalling the actress asking if streaming was ‘like TV, but different’

Winona Ryder had no idea what Netflix – or streaming – was before she signed up to take part in the website’s hit series Stranger Things, the show’s director has revealed.

While the series has become one of the streaming giant’s most popular original shows, Shawn Levy, who serves as director and executive producer on the sci-fi hit, revealed that the 52-year-old leading lady admitted to being completely baffled by the concept. of streaming during a first meeting with the production team.

‘She opened with the question: “What is Netflix? What is streaming? Is it like TV, but different?,” Levy recalled during an interview on the Happy sad confused podcast.

“She opened by asking, ‘What is Netflix? What is streaming? Is it like TV, but different?'” Levy recalled.

“That was the starting point… Yes, Winona took some time to explain this emerging form of storytelling, Netflix and streaming.”

According to Shawn Levy, the 52-year-old actress asked, “What is Netflix?” and also wondered during an initial production meeting whether streaming was ‘like TV but different’

Stranger Things director and executive producer Levy joked that Winona “had to get on board a little bit” before she understood the concept in its entirety

In the series, Winona plays Joyce Byers – Will (Noah Schnapp) and Jonathan’s (Charlie Heaton) anxious single mother who will do anything to ensure her children are safe.

She was one of the original cast members of Stranger Things, which premiered in 2016.

By then, Netflix had been operating its streaming services for nine years – having launched on-demand online video in 2007, an evolution of its previous DVD rental service.

Even though she may not have kept up with the times in 2016, Winona was still able to contribute her expertise about the 1980s.

Seasons one through four of Stranger Things are set between the years 1983 and 1986. Winona was a teenager at the time and starred in Beetlejuice and Heathers.

This made her very aware of pop culture at the time and was able to point out inaccuracies in the Stranger Things scripts.

Her co-star David Harbor, who plays the grizzly city cop Hopper, testified to her ability during a conversation with Harper’s Bazaar.

“She told them, ‘This song actually came out in ’85, and you got it in ’83,’” he recalled. “She knew all these little, little details that they didn’t even know, and based on that they had to change things in the script.”

Winona and the rest of the cast and crew of Stranger Things are gearing up for season five.

Winona and the rest of the cast and crew of Stranger Things are gearing up for season five

Winona was a teenager in the 80s and starred in Beetlejuice and Heathers. This made her very aware of pop culture at the time and was able to point out inaccuracies in the Stranger Things scripts.

Now that the WGA strike is over, the writers are back to writing the new season.

However, filming cannot begin until the SAG-AFTRA strike ends.

Luckily for the cast of Stranger Things, they have already been promised a raise for the upcoming season.

Winon and her co-star David are rumored to earn $9.5 million for the entire season Puck news.

Meanwhile, they earned $2.8 million for season four, which is more than a third less.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting the new season, which will now be released in 2025 due to the strike.

Although season five is still in the writing stages, Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer have teased a lot about what fans can expect.

“We know what the ending is,” they told SFX.

“It’s conceivable that it could change, but I think it’s unlikely because it’s one of those endings that just feels right and always has felt right. It also feels a bit inevitable.

Winon and her co-star David will earn $9.5 million for the entire season, according to Puck News.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting the new season which, due to the strike, will now be released in 2025

“Then when you think about it, you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s absolutely what it should be.’

They’ve also hinted that there will be more character development than ever before.

“The characters will already be in action, they will already have a purpose and a drive, and I think this will last at least a few hours and will give this season a very different feel,” they explained.

David also revealed that the cast of each season is receiving early drafts and that, based on what he had read, season five will go further than any other season.

‘It is also quite an undertaking. The set pieces and things in the scripts that we saw are bigger than anything we’ve done in the past,” he said during a televised appearance. Happy sad confused podcast.

“You have to imagine where it starts after Season 4 ended, when you see us on that hill looking at the ash and the smoke… and we’re going to start sometime after that. You have to imagine that the world is a different place.’

David Harbor also said that he knows how the series ends, and that it will be “very, very moving.”