Stranger Things star Winona Ryder didn’t know what Netflix or streaming was during her first meeting with producer and director Shawn Levy. Set in the 1980s, the sci-fi series follows the residents of Hawkins, Indiana as they combat terrifying supernatural forces hailing from a hostile alternate dimension known as the Upside Down. Ryder, known for her roles in the 1980s movies Beetlejuice and Heathers, plays Joyce Byers, the mother of Will whose disappearance sets the entire series in motion. Premiered in 2016, the show remains massively popular to this day with Stranger Things season 5 on the way.
During a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast hosted by Josh Horowitz, Levy relived his initial meeting with Ryder for her Stranger Things casting.
The producer, giggling while he did it, recalled how the actress opened the meeting by asking, “What is Netflix? What is streaming?” Read Levy’s full recollection below, or watch the portion of the video above.
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 start of the starting point. I adore that woman… But Winona took a little onboarding to explain this emerging form of storytelling called Netflix and streaming.
How Netflix’s Stranger Things Popularized Streaming Shows
It’s understandable that Ryder may not have been familiar with Netflix or streaming shows at the time considering that Stranger Things is largely responsible for putting them on the map. Stranger Things premiered in 2016, though Ryder had her initial meetings with the Duffer Brothers and Levy in before it was announced that she had been cast in June 2015. At that time, Netflix was just starting to be recognized for its original programming with shows like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, both of which premiered just two years earlier in 2013.
While both shows were popular, House of Cards was a political thriller and Orange Is the New Black was a dramedy set in a prison. Stranger Things established a new identity for Netflix originals with its impressive visual effects and high production value. Stranger Things also famously features a 1980s aesthetic, allowing it to appeal to older viewers who find it nostalgic and younger viewers who find the era fascinating, creating a much wider audience than past Netflix originals. In a short time, Stranger Things became a cultural phenomenon and made Netflix a household name.
