It’s no secret that Stranger Things is one of the most popular and best shows on Netflix. With Stranger Things' fifth and final season hitting the streamer at a yet-to-be-revealed date, the show’s popularity in the future is questionable. Matthew Modine, who portrays Dr. Martin Brenner on the sci-fi series, opened up about how Stranger Things’ popularity could be devastating for Millie Bobby Brown and other stars.
Although Matthew Modine didn’t have a start in the industry as early as the young actors on Stranger Things, he has been in the business since his early 20s and knows a thing or two about being a young actor. Since he and Millie Bobby Brown have had plenty of scenes together, Modine told The Guardian about his relationship with her and how different growing up in the industry today is compared to when he was growing up:
My desire was to protect her. When I was a young actor, if you had a show that was successful in 20 or 30 territories around the world, that would be unbelievable. Netflix is in more than 190 territories. What Millie and her generation have been exposed to through streaming is a kind of celebrity and power and reach that’s bigger than anything in the entertainment industry before. It’s a rollercoaster: there’s ups and downs. The adoration and the love are not real, it’s for something that you’ve created, and it can be devastating.
Matthew Modine may not have been brought up on the age of streaming, but he definitely knows what it’s like to be in the industry overall. With how big Stranger Things is, it makes sense that he would feel the need to protect Millie Bobby Brown from everything that comes with a very successful series. The show continues to grow its audience and will likely get even bigger ahead of Season 5 next year.
It could be scary having a show this popular, while at the same time sad, not knowing whether people like you for you or your character. It’s hard, especially being so young and dealing with it all while trying to grow up. Though it sounds like Matthew Modine has tried to help in every way he can. It wouldn’t be surprising to hear if any other of the adult stars of Stranger Things have done the same thing since a lot of them have been in a similar boat.
Even four seasons in, Stranger Things continues to be one of streaming TV's biggest hits. The series even helped streaming earn a victory over cable TV, with more viewership percentage shares on Netflix than any other cable network. It should be interesting to see how the numbers are when Season 5 of Stranger Things premieres, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they were higher.
The Stranger Things fame may be getting a little hard to handle, but that doesn’t mean the stars aren’t taking advantage of it. Millie Bobby Brown recently admitted to using the series as a way to get out of traffic tickets. Stranger Things has also become a LEGO set, so the success of the series is sticking around for quite some time. How that turns out later down the line for the young cast has yet to be seen, but at least they have a good group of veteran actors to help them.
Stranger Things 5 has no confirmed premiere date yet, but while we wait for that information, take a look of what's already on the 2023 TV schedule!
