Duffer Brothers Share Heartfelt Decision To Cast High School Drama Teacher In ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5
High school, as the Stranger Things gang can attest, is no walk in the park (Upside Down or not). And in a sweet gesture paying homage to their artistic beginnings, co-creators of the Netflix phenomenon, the Duffer Brothers, chose to cast their high school drama teacher in a key role.
“Miss Harris is played by Hope Hynes Love,” Ross Duffer wrote on Instagram in a new post. “She was our high school drama teacher.”
“High school was rough for me and my brother,” the executive producer, director and writer continued. “But Hope saw something in us we didn’t see in ourselves — and she helped give us the confidence to not only survive those four years, but to move to LA and chase our dreams.”
Ross Duffer ended his message with a note about the importance of educators, specifically those that instruct in the humanities: “Shoutout to all the teachers out there making a difference. And please… let’s prioritize the arts in schools. ✌️”
Introduced in Season 5 as a formative teacher, Ms. Harris now leads Holly’s (Nell Fisher) class; she witnesses the youngest Wheeler speaking with Mr. Whatsit, an “imaginary friend” to Holly’s parents and siblings until Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) discover his true identity — Henry aka Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). Throughout the events of Volume I, she also accompanies Holly’s classmates to the bunkers in the MAC-Z.
The long-awaited Stranger Things Season 5 has a three-volume drop schedule, the first of which featured four episodes and debuted a day prior to Thanksgiving. Volume II airs three episodes Christmas Day and the series finale will see a New Year’s Eve premiere, both on small screens and via a limited theatrical release.
