Stranger Things' David Harbour says Winona Ryder fact-checks '80s references on set

David Harbour and Winona Ryder in Stranger Things season 3
(Image credit: Netflix)

David Harbour has revealed that his Stranger Things co-star Winona Ryder alerts showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer to historical inaccuracies that she notices while on set. Set in the '80s, the show is full of references to the decade, from clothes to music, but these aren't always fully accurate. 

"She’d tell them, 'This song actually came out in '85, and you have it in '83,'" David Harbour told Harper’s Bazaar. "She knew all of these minute, tiny details they didn’t even know, and they had to change things in the script based on that… It’s just kind of epic how wild her mind is and how it goes to all these different corners."

Ryder rose to fame in the '80s with roles in movies like Beetlejuice, Great Balls of Fire!, and Heathers, before cementing her career in the '90s with Edward Scissorhands, The Age of Innocence, and Little Women. In Stranger Things, she plays Joyce Byers, the mother of Will (Noah Schnapp) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), while Harbour plays ex-police chief Jim Hopper. 

The latest installment of the series, Stranger Things season 4 part 1, was released on May 27 and has since become the most-viewed English-language series on Netflix and the second most-viewed series overall, with only Squid Game beating the sci-fi show to the top spot. The season was split in two, with two more episodes arriving in July. 

Stranger Things season 4 part 2 arrives on Netflix on July 1. In the meantime, check out our picks of the other best Netflix shows that you can stream right now.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.