Stranger Things: Winona Ryder Didn't Know What Netflix Was Before Joining Series

Stranger Things EP Shawn Levy reveals Winona Ryder didn't know what Netflix was when she auditioned for the show.

By Matthew Aguilar

Stranger Things will be returning for one more season next year, and throughout the previous four seasons, the show has been one of Netflix's tentpole shows. It's maintained its popularity ever since making a major splash with season one, and Winona Ryder has been part of the rollercoaster ride since day one. Ryder's Joyce Byers continues to play an important part in the series, so it's funny to hear that Ryder didn't even know what Netflix was when she auditioned for the role. Stranger Things Executive Producer Shawn Levy spoke with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and revealed that Ryder was still getting up to speed on not just Netflix but also streaming in general.

When asked about the audition process and casting Ryder and David Harbour, Levy said, "Winona opened our first meeting, the Duffers and I sat down and had tea with her. She opened by asking 'What is Netflix? What is streaming? Is it like TV but different?' That was the starting point (laughs)."

Horowitz then said that when Ryder did a podcast with him, afterwards she asked "Wait, was this a podcast? What did we just do?" Levy laughed and said, "I adore that woman." A bit later Levy added, "Yeah, Winona took a little onboarding to explain this emerging form of storytelling called Netflix and streaming."

Later in the interview, Levy was asked about the possibility of including some theatrical elements in the rollout for Season 5 and if he wants to have an episode or two on the big screen. Levy expanded on that idea though, revealing he would love to see all of season 5 on that screen.

"I would love to see, I mean honestly, I would love to see a whole screening series of Stranger Things in theaters, because the brothers are just magnificently cinematic filmmakers and the work that they're doing is clearly as ambitious and well crafted as any movie, and I would love to see us go out with the biggest bang possible. If the theatrical experience can be part of that, that would make me personally super happy," Levy said.

"This season is epic and broad in its cinematic scope, but it's very much Stranger Things," Levy said. "I have to credit the Duffers. They have always...you read the outline sometimes and it's just, it's massive, massive. But then you read the scripts, and you remember again and again and again that their instinct for anchoring the epic and the intimate, and for anchoring the darkness of the genre with the warmth of these characters, it's so innate to them."

"It is in my opinion one of their greatest superpowers, and as a result, season 5 like every season before gets bigger in scale, but doesn't forget who and what it is," Levy said.

Stranger Things season 5 currently doesn't have a release date, but we'll keep you posted when that changes. In the meantime, you can watch the previous seasons of Stranger Things on Netflix now.

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