Linda Hamilton Says She ‘Won’t Be Watching’ ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5: Being Cast ‘Ruined the Show for Me’
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While “Stranger Things” Season 5 star Linda Hamilton may be preparing to venture into Hawkins, Ind. — hopefully by blasting some of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” on her Walkman — she will not be watching the final season despite being a fan of the 80s-infused, “Dungeons and Dragons”-inspired Netflix drama show.
In an interview with Us Weekly!, the actor shared that while she’s “relished” every season of the show, being cast in its final season has “ruined” the experience of watching it.
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“When you buy into something, you don’t see yourself in it. So, I think it ruined the show for me. I never watch [a project] once I’m in something,” Hamilton explained. “It would completely take me out of the reality of it to see myself in there. So, I won’t be watching [Season 5].”
The actor is among the few new cast members to join the hit sci-fi series for its final run. Her role, however, is being kept under wraps from audiences — with even showrunners Ross and Matt Duffer only giving Hamilton the “shape of the character but not of the story.”
“They have to be very careful with their story,” Hamilton added. “So I still don’t know how it ends. It takes a lot of discipline not to know where it will go, but that’s to protect it from all of the people that want to know.”
Hamilton noted that she’s been having a great time on the show, which began production on Jan. 8. The official “Stranger Things” Instagram kicked off the shoot by posting a photo of the entire cast on their first day of production. They’ve since continued to post a variety of pictures to tease and generate hype for the hotly anticipated finale.
Hamilton jokingly referenced having friends constantly text her to see where she is on set so they can then try to piece together and decipher parts of the coveted show’s story and lore.
Recently, cast member Gaten Matarazzo — who plays the fan-favorite Dustin Henderson — appeared at MegaCon Orlando (via CBR) and was asked if there were any changes he would make to the show’s first four seasons, to which the actor didn’t hesitate to say that more characters should’ve been killed off.
“It might sound messed up, but we should kill more people,” Matarazzo said. “This show would be so much better if the stakes were much higher, like, at any moment, any of these kids can kick it. I feel like we’re all too safe.”
While production on the season is already in full swing, there’s no news as to when the finale will air on Netflix. With the Hollywood strikes halting many film and television productions, there is little chance Season 5 will debut earlier than 2025.
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