Netflix’sStranger Thingsis gearing up to start production onSeason 3, with all of the major stars securing sizeable raises ahead of production starting on April 23. A new report reveals that the main adult stars of the show, Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers) and David Harbour (Sheriff Jim Hopper) will be making $350,000 per episode, while most of the young stars are earning a reported $250,000 per episode, a raise of roughly 12 times their salary on previous seasons. There has also been talk that breakout star Millie Bobby Brown may be making more than all of the other cast members as well.
This new report claims that there are three primary “tiers” when it comes to theStranger Thingsstars' salaries. The “A tier” is the adults,Winona Ryder and David Harbour, who make $350,000 per episode, with the “B tier” including most of the young stars, such as Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair) and Noah Schnapp (Will Byers). The “C tier” includes the teenage actors such as Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington) and Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), who are pulling in $150,000 per episode.
As for Millie Bobby Brown, the14-year-old actress who plays the enigmatic Eleven, some sources claim that she may be making more than the $350,000 that Ryder and Harbour make. Brown had already set herself apart from her young co-stars last year, and while her salary has yet to be confirmed, sources claim she’s at least making the $250,000 per episode the rest of her co-stars are getting. There are others who state that Brown is in a tier all by herself, earning $300,000 per episode, between the adults and the rest of the kids.
Netflixdeclined to comment on the stars' salaries, but sources reveal that, despite the streaming service handing out $60,000 bonuses to the cast members, re-negotiations of all the stars' contracts were expected, given the show’s massive popularity. Sources claim that all of the child stars were making roughly $20,000 per episode in both the first and second seasons of the show, while Winona Ryder was pulling in roughly $100,000 per episode and David Harbour was getting $80,000 an episode.
The first season wasnominated for 18 Emmy awards, winning five, although all of its wins were in technical categories such as Outstanding Main Title Design, Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music, Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series, Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series. Given the scandals surrounding Netflix’s first major hit,House of Cards,Stranger Thingsis now seen as the “crown jewel” for the streaming service, which even struck licensing deals with Hybrid Apparel and Hot Topic as well. The stars have parlayed their success on the small screen to landing big screen roles as well, with Millie Bobby Brown starring inGodzilla: King of Monsters, Finn Wolfhard landing a pivotal role in last year’s horror blockbusterITand David Harbour landing the title role in the newHellboyreboot. You can head over toThe Hollywood Reporterfor their full report on theStranger Thingsstars' pay raises.
