For the final season of Netflix's record-breaking show Stranger Things, stars Winona Ryder and David Harbour will reportedly make close to an eight-figure salary for their work.
According to a report from Puck, Ryder and Harbour, who have been with Stranger Things since its inception, stand to collect $9.5 million during Season 5 of the hit series. Sources close to the situation said most of the show's cast went into renegotiations collectively, including 20 regulars, leading to Netflix creating four salary tiers. Given Ryder and Harbour's standing on the show, they were placed in Tier 1 of negotiations, receiving the above-mentioned figure. Their Season 5 salary is over three times the money they made during Season 3 where each actor pocketed $2.8 million.
Meanwhile, Tier 2 includes the original boys on the show, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, along with later addition Sadie Sink, who successfully lobbied to be added to the tier, with each standing to make just over $7 million. Tier 3 negotiators, featuring Natalia Dyer, Maya Hawke, Charlie Heaton and Joe Keery, will earn over $6 million in salary with the rest of the cast making significantly less money. Netflix business affairs vice president Rob Natter initially proposed the tiered system. However, the negotiating teams argued Netflix didn't have the original stars of Stranger Things under contract due to California's seven-year rule preventing personal services deals from extending past seven years, invalidating their deals that were ratified in 2015. While Netflix disputed those claims from negotiations, the offers for Season 5 reportedly ballooned.
The Final Season of Stranger Things
Each of the salaries for Season 5 covers services in eight episodes, though Netflix pays for 10 episodes to reduce the per-episode fee so they can argue during negotiations for their other shows that it doesn't go above a certain amount for Stranger Things. It makes sense for the streaming service to use Stranger Things as the benchmark considering Season 4 of the show boasts the most viewing hours of any U.S. title they've ever had, though the recently-released Wednesday threatens that title.
Winona Ryder plays Joyce Byers on Stranger Things, the mother of Will and Jonathan Byers (Noah Schnapp and Charlie Heaton) who later develops feelings for Jim Hopper. Hopper, played by Harbour, is a police chief who lapsed into alcoholism following the death of his daughter due to cancer before turning his life around. Harbour, who also stars in the upcoming MCU film Thunderbolts, intends to shoot Season 5 of Stranger Things while filming the superhero movie, admitting his schedule in 2023 will be hectic.
Though anticipation for Season 5 is high, fans may have to wait until midway through 2024 to stream it as Harbour confirmed filming for the final Stranger Things season begins later this year. In an interview last November, writers were completing the final story and other preparations are being made behind the scenes. Details regarding Season 5 plot lines, production and release date remain sparse, though the show's co-creator Ross Duffer confirmed runtimes for the upcoming season will be more conventional than in Season 4.
Seasons 1-4 of Stranger Things are streaming on Netflix.
Source: Puck