Summary
Stranger Things star David Harbour recalls a “cringey” promo from six years ago. The Netflix show, which explores the Upside Down and its damaging effect on residents of Hawkins, Indiana, premiered back in 2016. Since then, Stranger Things has become one of the platform’s most successful shows, maintaining impressive viewership numbers and critical acclaim. In addition to Harbour, who portrays Jim Hopper, Stranger Things’ ensemble cast includes Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, and Sadie Sink, among others.
Stranger Things has been promoted a lot over the course of four seasons, but during an interview with ComicBook.com, that took place before the SAG-AFTRA strike, Harbour recalled an instance that turned “cringey.” The actor explained that for season 2 of the show, he and other cast members had to go around on a bus, meeting fans, which didn’t turn out as fun as it could’ve been. Read Harbour’s comments regarding that Stranger Things promo below:
I’ll tell you what they did want to do. Season two, I think it was of Stranger Things. They wanted us to ride on a TMZ-type bus. It was like a Stranger Things fan bus and get on the bus, stop traffic, get on the bus, drive up, and everybody gets off the bus with them and stuff, and we did it for like a couple of minutes, and it became very, as the kids say, cringey very quickly.
The Stranger Things cast participated in other promos over the years, including the New Coke commercial, which ran prior to season 3 and featured Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) heading to the movies at Starcourt. The show has also partnered with Domino’s Pizza for its “Mind Ordering” app, creating an advertisement that saw Dustin Henderson (Matarazzo) and Lucas Sinclair (McLaughlin) picking up food, while Eleven (Brown) was tasked with using her powers to order. Given the show’s large fanbase, surprise interactions are one way to get audiences excited about new installments, but these types of collaborations are also fun.
Other promos, including shops and attractions at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, have offered viewers more of an experience. For the release of Stranger Things season 4, New York City got involved, incorporating themed lights onto the side of the Empire State Building. Stranger Things: The Experience took place there as well, before changing locations, and presents fans with settings and scenarios reminiscent of the show.
Considering how much bigger the promos have gotten, and Harbour’s thoughts on that specific event, it will be interesting to see what happens when Stranger Things season 5 is ready to premiere. With the current strikes resulting in production delays, it may be some time before there are any updates though. Still, it is worth wondering what kind of promotion will be in store for the show’s final run.
Source: ComicBook.com
