One of the biggest small screen hits of the summer was the throwback horror series Stranger Things - at least unofficially, because Netflix - and fans have been waiting not very patiently to get new updates about Season 2. Roll out the upside down red carpet, because the show has announced a trio of new characters that sound quite interesting, and we can look forward to watching the just-cast Sean Astin, Paul Reiser and Linnea Berthelsen taking on the roles.
The main cast for Stranger Things was just announced/confirmed recently, with two new cast members getting added almost a month ago, but these additions are on par with getting Winona Ryder for Season 1. Sean Astin, whose career is filled with genre entries like The Goonies, Lord of the Rings and The Strain, will play the local RadioShack manager Bob Newby. (I love this already.) He went to high school with Joyce and Hopper, and they probably knew him as quite a bit of a nerd, but a nice one all the same. If RadioShack is getting namechecked here, expect more spooky electronics in Season 2. Calculator watches for everyone!
Paul Reiser, most famous for Mad About You and a long stand-up career, will get a little more series for Stranger Things as Dr. Owens, who works for the Department of Energy as a higher-up exec. He has been given the assignment to take care of cleaning up the events of Season 1, so we can probably expect to see Reiser squaring off with Matthew Modine's Dr. Martin Brenner at some point. Fun fact: Reiser is currently gearing up for Season 2 of Amazon's stellar comedy Red Oaks, which also takes place in the 1980s, but contains no monsters.
Newcomer Linnea Berthelsen, a Danish actress who has only appeared in a couple of short films, will play a character who sounds like she's got a lot in common with Eleven. As Roman, Berthelsen will portray a young woman who suffered a tragedy as a child, and is now emotionally damaged because of it. And, as you may have guessed, she is also connected to everything that happened in Hawkins, according to EW. The thing is, she doesn't even live there. (Cue the synth music.)
Not too much is known about what will be happening in Season 2 of Stranger Things, though creators Matt and Ross Duffer have said there will be more exploration into the mythology of The Upside Down and the various threats brought about by the DOE's experiments. And thankfully, after months of hoping and telepathically trying to make it happen, the casting announcement confirmed Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven will be back for another round of nosebleeds.
Stranger Things doesn't have a release date locked up for Season 2 just yet, but it's coming next year, along with many other shows you can find on our 2017 Netflix schedule. As well, you can check out our midseason premiere schedule to see what's coming to your linear TV viewing.
