Francesca Reale joins Stranger Things Season 3
David Farnor | On 10, May 2018
Haters Back Off star Francesca Reale has joined the cast of Stranger Things Season 3.
Reale, who stole scenes as the rational sister of Miranda Sings (Colleen Ballinger) in the Netflix comedy, is reteaming with the streaming giant to become a major part of its ongoing horror-fantasy hit. The series, created by the Duffer brothers, began production last month, with the first half of the scripts now written and the remainder being penned this very minute.
The third run of the show sees all the familiar faces return, from David Harbour to Millie Bobby Brown, as well as new cast members Cary Elwes and Jake Busey, who will play Hawkins’ slick and sleazy local mayor, and Bruce, a journalist for the The Hawkins Post. They are also joined by Maya Hawke (Little Women) as Robin, an alternative girl who is equal parts sharp and playful, while Priah Ferguson has been upgraded to a recurring role as Erica Sinclair. Now, completing the ensemble is Reale, who has a recurring role in the show as Heather, a lifeguard at the local Hawkins pool, who becomes “the centrepiece of a dark mystery”.
Production starts on Stranger Things 3
27th April 2018
Stranger Things is now in production for Season 3.
Yes, the kids are back together again for another round of retro-sci-fi-horror adventures, with a new video giving us a glimpse of the first cast and crew table read of the scripts. The announcement by Netflix this afternoon marks the start of a long wait for Season 3 – and a long trickle of details about what’s in store. Those began with Mille Bobby Brown sharing a photo of her and director Shawn Levy on set this week for the new season.
Levy himself has also been talking abotu the new season in an interview with Collider. He explained that the scripts for the new run aren’t finished yet, with only the first batch on paper and handed out.
“The rest of [the scripts] kind of get written as we shoot, as we edit, as we go,” he elaborated. “”I’m once again directing the third and fourth episodes so that I can give the Duffers a breather, and send them back into the writing cave, so that they can buff out the rest of the season.”
What else do we know about the new season? Cary Elwes and Jake Busey have joined the cast as the slick and sleazy local mayor, and Bruce, a journalist for the The Hawkins Post with questionable morals and a sick sense of humour. They will also be joined by Maya Hawke (Little Women) as Robin, an alternative girl who is equal parts sharp and playful, while Priah Ferguson has been upgraded to a recurring role as Erica Sinclair.
Still need your Stranger Things fix? Catch up with our reviews of Stranger Things Season 2 here – or read our guide to all the 80s references in Season 2 here.
Cary Elwes and Jake Busey join Stranger Things Season 3
18th April 2018
Cary Elwes and Jake Busey have joined the cast for Stranger Things Season 3.
Elwes, who will forever be known for his role in The Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, is active both in front of and behind the camera. He was recently a series regular on his show The Art of More, which has wrapped its second season for Sony/Crackle, and can be seen starring in the theatrical release The Queen of Spain, opposite Penelope Cruz for Academy Award winning director Fernando Trueba. He also produced and wrote Elvis Nixon.
He will play Mayor Kline in Netflix’s retro supernatural horror. He’s described by Netflix as “handsome, slick, and sleazy, Mayor Kline is your classic 80s politician – more concerned with his own image than with the people of the small town he governs”.
Jake Busey has also been cast as a guest performer in the role of “Bruce”.
Jake Busey was born, raised and is living well in show business. The son of photographer Judy Lynn Helkenberg and actor Gary Busey, Jake spent his childhood on film sets, on the road with his father’s bands and grew up as a complete artist. Spending many years side-stage studying such acts as Willie Nelson, Leon Russell, and Feetwood Mac, Jake found his passion for music and performing.
Busey entered the industry with a bang in his first motion picture Straight Time (1978), starring alongside his father and Dustin Hoffman. Since then, Jake has worked with Jodi Foster in Contact, Will Smith in Enemy of the State, and as the smart-mouthed Private Ace Levy in Starship Troopers.
Jake is no stranger to the small screen, having recurred on Ray Donovan and Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. Busey also starred in three seasons of Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn.
Bruce is described by Netflix as “a journalist for the The Hawkins Post with questionable morals and a sick sense of humor”.
Stranger Things Season 3 casts Maya Hawke and adds more Priah Ferguson
3rd March
Stranger Things has added Maya Hawke to the cast for Season 3.
The actress, who was recently the lead in the BBC and Masterpiece’s highly anticipated miniseries adaptation of Little Women, won the role as her first professional acting job. She has just wrapped shooting the independent film Ladyworld, directed by Amanda Kramer, and is attached to the lead role in Myna Joseph’s forthcoming feature film Charlotte XVI.
She will play Robin, an alternative girl who is equal parts sharp and playful. Bored with her mundane day job, she just wants a little excitement in her life, and gets more than she bargained for when she uncovers a dark secret in Hawkins.
Hawke arrives returning cast member Priah Ferguson is upgraded to a recurring role as Erica Sinclair. Fergusion first made a guest appearance in Stranger Things 2, and will once again reprise her role as Lucas’ strong-willed little sister, but this time with an army of friends. No longer content with sitting on the sidelines, Erica finds herself on a wild mission to save Hawkins from a dangerous and unexpected new threat.
They’re the first hint of what lies in store in for the third run of Netflix’s retro sci-fi/horror. The series was one of the most talked about shows of 2016 and 2017, breaking free from its genre appeal to become a mainstream success, bagging a whopping 18 Emmy nominations in the process.
“We’re thinking it will be a four-season thing and then out,” the creators Matt and Ross Duffer have previously said of their plans for the show’s future.
You can catch up with our reviews of Stranger Things Season 2 here – or read our guide to all the 80s references in Season 2 here.