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‘It was going to be a disaster’: David Harbour says he thought Stranger Things would be cancelled immediately

Even the actor’s hairdresser didn’t think the show would ‘work’, actor said in an interview

Amanda Whiting
Friday 29 July 2022 17:52 BST
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Stranger Things' David Harbour gives astonishing acceptance speech at SAG Awards

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David Harbour has revealed that he never thought that Stranger Things would make it past season one while filming early scenes.

The fourth instalment of Netflix’s fantasy hit was released earlier this summer in two volumes.

Though the new episodes have been incredibly successful, Harbour, who plays police chief Jim Hopper on the hit Netflix series, has admitted that he had doubts about the show at the start.

"We thought no one would watch it, it was going to be a disaster,” Harbour said during an interview on BBC’s The One Show earlier this week.

"I remember when we were shooting the first season,” the actor continued. “We were down in Atlanta, Netflix had given us a budget of about $20.

“Halfway through I remember my hair person coming up to me, like about episode four we were shooting, and she was like, ‘I don’t think it’s gonna work.’”

As the shoot continued, Harbour only became more pessimistic about the show’s chances.

David Harbour in ‘Stranger Things’
David Harbour in ‘Stranger Things’ (Netflix)

“By the time we finished, we wrapped, I thought we wouldn’t get a second season; we’d be the first Netflix show kind of ever to never get a second season.”

The series from brothers Matt and Ross Duffer premiered in 2016 and is set to end after its fifth season, which has yet to be filmed.

The brothers have said very little about what’s in store, confirming only that the last season will feature a “time jump” to address the ages of the actors who play the kids on the show.

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