After Talking To Paul Wesley About Netflix Not Advertising For "Stranger Things," David Harbour Worried He "Blew" The Lead Role, Which Is Wild To Think About
And on that note, I’m still waiting on Season 4, David!
As you know, Netflix is kind of, somewhat, sort of, a bit of a pioneer when it comes to the streaming world and its approach to marketing its content isn't always straightforward. Case in point: Stranger Things.
Let me explain: Recently, during his New York Comic Con spotlight panel, David Harbour revealed that he was worried about the lack of publicity the series was getting ahead of its premiere, according to People.
So after filming the first season of Stranger Things, David was costarring in an off-Broadway play with The Vampire Diaries alum Paul Wesley and — during the NYCC panel — he joked that he was going to “throw [Paul] under the bus” with a tidbit from a conversation they had.
"So about two weeks before [Stranger Things premiered], I was like, 'There's still no ads, man, like buses and phone, there's no ads,' and [Paul] was like, 'Sorry man, they're trying to bury it.' It was clearly a terrible show."
He continued, sharing that after that conversation with Paul, he began panicking, "I was like, 'Oh no, man. I blew it. I had one of the leads on a Netflix show and I blew it. We all blew it.'"
*Channels Annie Murphy's Alexis voice from Schitt's Creek* "Honestly, David?" No, but in all seriousness, this is a wild revelation and just goes to show that self-doubt is a menace that spares not a single soul. Of course, as all of us beloved fans will note, the '80s-themed sci-fi series is among one of the first-ever shows to break through the noise on the platform and generate a cultlike following.
"I think one of the things that people love about it — and it's so hard to have in today's culture — is you discovered it," David said. "I mean, like, you didn't hear much about it and you just sort of were playing around on Netflix and…people were like, 'Oh this looks kind of good,' and there was a sense of discovery about it. That was brilliant."
Later on, Netflix advertisers told David the decision was intentional: "The advertising department claimed later on that that was the manipulation the entire time and that they're just geniuses. But I don't know what's true."
And on that note, the third season of Stranger Things premiered more than two years ago (something, I'm sure, we're all incredibly, painfully aware of), with the upcoming season set to release in 2022. Netflix dropped a teaser during its Tudum fan event in late September, highlighting an all-new location: the Creel House.
Well, there you have it! In the meantime, I’ll just be sitting here, trying to decipher what a “2022 release" means, since it could literally range from Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2022.
