Outside the Paley Museum on West 52nd Street on Thursday night, about 50 fans lined barricades in hopes of spotting members of the “Stranger Things” cast. They had come from as far as Texas and started arriving at 2 p.m., clutching posters, Playbills and, in one case, a purse with Hawkins High School pins.
Inside, half a dozen cast members including Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Maya Hawke and Natalia Dyer walked a red carpet as the show’s unofficial anthem, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” by Kate Bush, played. They were greeted by a chorus of shrieks from fans.
“I can’t believe it’s finally almost over,” said Mr. Matarazzo, 23, who plays the lovable goofball Dustin Henderson. “I haven’t really said goodbye to it yet.”
In the nearly ten years since the show premiered in 2016, the cast members of the Netflix megahit, have grown up not only onscreen but also in real life. They have traded chubby cheeks and toothy grins for deepened voices, six-foot frames and, in Mr. McLaughlin’s case, chiseled abs.
Mr. Matarazzo said the cast planned to gather in a theater the following evening to watch the final episode, which will arrive on Netflix on New Year’s Eve. Most of them made it out on Thursday night, though a few, including Millie Bobby Brown, who plays the telepathic teen Eleven; and David Harbour, who plays her surrogate father, the town police chief, Jim Hopper, were absent.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Charlie Heaton, 31, who plays Jonathan Byers, a talented photographer and protective older brother.
Set in 1980s Hawkins, Ind., the show tells the story of a small town troubled by ominous, otherworldly activity. The first episodes of the fifth season drew nearly 60 million views in their first five days on Netflix last month. The show also spawned a stage play, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” a prequel adventure that opened on Broadway this year.
The series is beloved not only for its cross-generational appeal but also for its nostalgic evocations of 1970s and ’80s pop culture. Among the shout-outs in Season 5: Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 young-adult science fantasy novel “A Wrinkle in Time,” the 1985 comedy “Spies Like Us” and Peanut Butter Boppers.
So what would the cast members’ personal power-up bites be, their comfort-food equivalents of the Eggo waffles beloved by Eleven?
“This is so stupid and actressy, but probably a smoothie with pineapple, avocado, banana, almonds, chlorophyll and some protein powder,” said Ms. Hawke, 27, who plays the budding D.J. Robin Buckley.
“A bodega bagel with scallion cream cheese,” Mr. Matarazzo said. “That’s been my go-to of late. And it’s probably not one I should have very consistently because that is an intense food on my stomach.”
As the cast prepared to enter the theater for a sold-out panel discussion about the final season, the actors offered advice they would give their younger selves.
“Document things,” said Ms. Dyer, 30, who plays the aspiring journalist Nancy Wheeler. “Remember as much as you can. It goes by so fast.”
Not everyone was so serious: “That I don’t need to shampoo every day,” said Mr. Matarazzo, whose curly hair has become beloved by fans. “Because it got frizzy.”
Sarah Bahr writes about culture and style for The Times.
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