As “Stranger Things” heads into its fifth and final season, star Finn Wolfhard said he and his cast mates worried that the last episodes of the hit Netflix series might face the kind of backlash “Game of Thrones” received at the end of its run.
“I think everyone was pretty worried, honestly,” Wolfhard said in an interview with Time magazine, published Thursday.
“The way that ‘Game of Thrones’ got torn to shreds in that final season, we’re all walking into this going, ‘We hope to not have that kind of thing happen,’” he added.
That backlash Wolfhard is referring to is the swarm of criticism that came from fans during and after “Game of Thrones” aired its final season. Many viewers took issue with the shows pacing, certain characters arcs as well as some questionable plot points and deemed it one of the worst finales of all time.
While there was some concern, Wolfhard said the cast felt more comfortable about how fans would receive the ending once they read the Season 5 scripts.
“Then we read the scripts. We knew that it was something special,” Wolfhard said.
After nine years, Netflix’s hit horror is officially taking its final bow with Season 5, an effort that was pushed back due to the COVID pandemic and the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023.
While reflecting on his long tenure on the show, Wolfhard recalled suffering a panic attack. The then-13-year-old actor said he was juggling life during a pandemic while still filming a major series.
“I was having normal first-relationship struggles and juggling COVID-19 and the show,” he explained. “Halfway through a scene I started hyperventilating. It was kind of like a fishbowl because a lot of the extras are fans. It culminated in sort of a panic attack.”
“It’s just a symptom of what filmmaking can be, which is chaotic,” Wolfhard said as he reflected on having more agency on set as he gets older. “As a child actor, you’re trying to make things easy for people. You don’t know how to speak up for yourself. You don’t know how to ask for a break.”
“Stranger Things” Vol. 1 premieres Nov. 26, with Vol. 2 dropping on Dec. 25. The series finale will air on Dec. 31. Seasons 1–4 are now streaming on Netflix.
