David Harbour is as ready to be done with Stranger Things as many fans are

We cannot really blame David Harbour for how he feels. His career was helped monumentally by the success of Netflix's Stranger Things, but that isn't the only role the actor wants to be known for. It would be a bit like Daniel Craig never doing anything other than James Bond.

Harbour is also not appreciative of his time on the iconic show, but he is probably speaking the views of many in the cast. Their time together has been wonderful, but they act for a living, and Stranger Things won't be around forever. They have to prove they can do other things.

Harbour has done that recently. He was featured in the critically well-reviewed, but commercially unsuccessful, Thunderbolts*, and he was the lead in Violent Night in 2022, a movie that was far better than it had any business being.

Jim Hopper (we mean David Harbour) gets real about finishing Stranger Things

Besides his work in the final season of Stranger Things, Harbour is going to be busy. He will play Santa again in Violent Night 2 (seriously), as well as reprise his role as Alexie Shostakov/Red Guardian in 2026's Avengers: Doomsday. But some will only remember the actor from playing Jim Hopper on a certain Netflix series.

In a recent talk with fellow actor Scarlett Johansson for Interview magazine, Harbour shared his real feelings about the ending of Stranger Things. (Warning: Some fans of the show will not like what he had to say.)

The actor said when asked by Johansson if being done with ST was a relief, "When I started, I loved it so much. Buddies of mine who’d done TV shows for many years said, 'By season three or four, you’ll be running.' And I was like, 'Never! I love all these guys so much.' And then you get to a certain point where you’re like, 'How much more story is there?' You’re having to play a lot of the same beat, and there’s a feeling where you’re like, 'I want to take a risk. I want to do something that people haven’t seen me do before.' So yeah, after 10 years, it’s like, 'Okay.'"

Harbour has a point. There is only so much any actor can do on a series like Stranger Things because the point of the show isn't about how characters will evolve necessarily, though they naturally do, but if good will defeat evil. It's not a drama, but a sci-fi thriller, and a great one.

The final and fifth season of Stranger Things will drop in three parts. The first part, featuring four episodes, would be released at 8 pm ET on November 26. The second part, which is three episodes, will drop at 8 pm ET on Christmas Day with the finale coming out at 8 pm ET on New Year's Eve.

To be fair, many fans on social media have complained about how much time has gone between season 4 and season 5, and have mentioned they have moved on to other things. Will season 5 be popular? Sure, but many wish it had come sooner.

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