It's almost hard to believe, but Stranger Things was released nearly a year ago. The undeniable hit of Summer 2016, Netflix' sci-fi series became pop culture royalty, accruing tons of fans and critical acclaim. The highly anticipated second season will be a bit delayed this year, debuting on Halloween rather than July. And while these extra few months will be excruciating, we just got some new casting information that may help hold us over. Because Season 2 of Stranger Things will welcome Nashville star Will Chase as new character Neil Mayfield.
According to TV Line, Will Chase's character will be the father of a new family that has just moved to Hawkins, Indiana. Smart money says he's the dad of the two previously announced new kids, who will presumably be joining the Dungeons and Dragons group in their sophomore adventure. Although plot details about Season 2 are basically non existent, so this is all theorizing at this point.
Avid TV fans will probably know Will Chase best for his role a country star Luke Wheeler in Nashville, appearing in a total of 57 episodes during his tenure. A fantastic singer and actor, Chase has a background in theater, appearing in a ton of Broadway shows including RENT, Something Rotten!, and Billy Elliot. His status in the theater community, as well as his fantastic voice, led him to get a supporting role in NBC's short-lived musical series Smash, which likely made the way for his far larger role in Nashville.
It should be interesting to see how newcomers like Will Chase's Neil Mayfield factor into Stranger Things Season 2. At the end of the first season, basically every main character knew the truth about Hawkins and the Upside Down (besides's Mike's clueless mother and her glorious hairdo). They've presumably all made some sort of pact to keep their secret adventure from the rest of the world, but the arrival of new characters may have the potential to shake this up and expose the secret I assume they're all trying to keep.
The overall narrative of Stranger Things is still very much a mystery, but Season 1's finale teased quite a few threads that will undoubtedly be pulled. Perhaps the most fascinating is Will Byer's return to Hawkins after his time in The Upside Down. During the Byer's janky but adorable Christmas celebration, we saw Will excuse himself to the bathroom, throw up a slug creature, and even briefly flash back to The Upside Down. It should be fascinating to see how he attempt to keep this under wraps, and return to a "normal" life. Additionally, Hopper seems to be under the thumb of Hawkins Labs, and is delivering mysterious Eggo's to what we can all assume is a not so dead Eleven.
Stranger Things Season 2 will be released in its entirety on October 31st over at Netflix. In the meantime, check out our summer premiere list and plan your next binge watch.
