David Harbour Says ‘Stranger Things’ Stars Cried Uncontrollably Reading Series Finale Script
Even as one of the breakout stars of Stranger Things, David Harbour says he can be brutally honest about the Netflix series. But he has nothing but praise for the upcoming series finale — the script for which, he says, brought the cast to tears.
“Look, I’m very close to the show, so I have very strong opinions, and they may not match yours if you’re a fan of the show,” Harbour told the crowd at a New York Comic Con panel for the 10th anniversary of the podcast Happy Sad Confused on Thursday, October 17, per People.
“I’m an actor on the show. So I see the nuts and bolts… I can be very critical of this show,” said Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper on the sci-fi hit, due to return in 2025. He said he’ll get mad when he thinks the show has offered a bad episode or a season he doesn’t like.
But the Stranger Things writers did right by the show with the series finale script, according to Harbour. “They land the plane, and it is the best episode they’ve ever done,” he said.
In fact, the cast shed tears at a table read for that last installment, Harbour revealed. “The end of this episode, when we were reading it — just us reading it — about halfway through, people started crying,” he said. “Then, about the last 20 minutes, it was just uncontrollably crying, waves of different people.”
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
He added that costar Noah Schnapp was his “favorite” cryer of the bunch — and teasingly imitated Schnapp’s sobs for the NYCC crowd.
Harbour previously amped up excitement for Stranger Things’ fifth and final season on Happy Sad Confused, saying in an August 2023 episode that creators Matt and Ross Duffer “continue to outdo themselves” with “terrific” scripts.
“I mean, the set pieces and the things in the scripts that we saw are bigger than anything we’ve done in the past,” he said. “I’m excited to wrap it up in a bold, amazing way. … They’re going to pay [the characters] off in big ways because they’ve lived with you for the past eight years.”
Stranger Things, Fifth and Final Season, 2025, Netflix
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I am a busy working mom with eleven children (yes all from same mom and dad) and my Army husband so I do not watch much tv. I honestly just don't have the time. However, I do love a good scary movie. I have always heard Stranger Things was a good show. I also love Bath and Body works and their recent Halloween collaboration with Stranger Things did prompt me to start watching the series. I am glad I am a late watcher because I hate waiting for sequels so by the time I finish season 4, I will not have long to wait for the finale. This show has also been a bonding of sort for myself and my 12 yr old son who is my second to youngest child. We watch it together and ooh and aah over the events in unison. We get so animated discussing what is happening and it has just been a true joy being a part of the show's fan base. It is the best series I have ever watched from this genre. There are so many twists and turns in this story and the actors are amazingly talented. Especially the young ones. I love all of the A list actors who show up in the series but Hopper is my favorite. I will truly be saddened when it is all over. I can imagine if I feel this way, the cast will feel that times 10, having put so much of themselves into this story.
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