Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 cast©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
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Jennifer Chu
Published 40 minutes ago
Jennifer is a TV News Editor at ScreenRant. She started her journey in entertainment media in 2022 when she first joined Valnet at CBR before coming to ScreenRant.
Jennifer loves TV, especially science fiction. She also loves late-night talk shows, due to her insomnia. Alien: Earth is definitely one of her favorite shows, and she jumps on any chance she gets to write about it. Even on her days off, she will claim an Alien Earth article if one is available.
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Her Alien: Earth coverage for Screen Rant is by far the work that she is most proud of so far.
She began her career as an editor in 2014. She was initially a finance editor, but her passion for pop culture convinced her to transition into entertainment journalism.
During her off time, she loves to binge-watch cooking shows such as Kitchen Nightmares. Jennifer also loves spending time with her daughter and cherishes every moment of it.
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Actor Linda Hamilton (69 years old) almost retired from acting, but Stranger Things changed her mind.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hamilton, who portrayed Dr. Kay in the final season of the popular Netflix series, revealed that she came very close to leaving the industry due to problems with her hip. She believed that her health issues would prevent her from performing to the best of her ability, so it wouldn't be fair to the creators and co-stars of any potential projects she could potentially take part in. However, she quickly changed her mind when an opportunity to appear on Stranger Things season 5 came her way.
Hamilton said that around three months after her decision to take a step back, her agent received a call from Matt and Ross Duffer (the creators of the hit science fiction show). They asked him if she was available to take on a role in the series, and her agent said "yes" before even asking her because he already knew she would agree, and he was just so excited about the opportunity.
Yeah. That doesn't happen often enough. They came to my agent. I was thinking very much of retirement around that time 'cause my hip. I was limping. Unless you want a character that's limping... I just said, "I can't do my best work or be sure that I'm gonna be fit for work every day. I gotta stop." And cut to — Stranger Things calls him three months later. There's been no further discussion about retirement. We've left it on the table. They said, "Is Linda Hamilton available from June to June?" And he went, "Yes!" — without even asking, because that's how excited we were and he was.
The actor explained that she had to do a lot of work to get ready for the film because her character does have a lot of action scenes. She said that she went to the gym multiple times a week despite her hip issues, so she could stay active and be prepared for filming the more physical scenes.
A whole calendar year of trying to stay ahead of the curve in terms of when they might need me and what the demands were going to be physically. We call it PT, but really, I went to the gym three times a week to stay mobile and ready. It was also very necessary. I'm just older. I'm thinking those might be my last stunt rehearsals — I think I might be done with that. I could actually say I'm done with that and see what happens. But I worked really hard just to stay fit and ready and able. And now, what a relief that I got through it. And she didn't limp, the character!
Another interesting connection between Hamilton and the series is that the Duffer Brothers have stated in the past that the Terminator was a major inspiration for Stranger Things. The actor starred as the protagonist, Sarah, in the original movies of the franchise, so having her on the show for its final season was exciting for the creators. She even mentioned that the pair wore Terminator shirts quite often while filming.
They were pretty much wearing some version of a James Cameron film T-shirt every day. [Laughs] I don't think they were even doing it for me. They just wear the inspiration. So we didn't really talk about the origins so much, and actually didn't really talk about the character that much. Those guys are busy. So that's a little bit fun and dangerous — to not know the endgame. They played that very close to their chests, but it was so well written that there wasn't any question about how should I play this or that. And then I added my own magic, and off I went.
Stranger Things season 5, volume 1, is now available on Netflix. Volume 2 will be released on December 25, 2025, and the finale will premiere on December 31, 2025.
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10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Drama Mystery Horror Science Fiction Release Date 2016 - 2025-00-00 Network Netflix Showrunner Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Directors Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz Writers Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock
7 Images
Eleven looking into an opening of the Upside Down with pink light in Stranger Things season 1
Jim Hopper (David Harbour) grabbing Jonathan's (Charlie Heaton) shoulders in Stranger Things season 1©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Eleven with cables all over her head in Stranger Things season 4
Vecna looking towards Will in the trailer for Stranger Things season 5 (2025)
Max and Eleven in Stranger ThingsNetflix
Stranger Things season 2, episode 2 "Trick or Treat, Freak".MovieStillsDB
The Upside Down in Stranger Things season 5Courtesy of Netflix Close
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