Winona Ryder Really Had No Idea What Netflix Or Even Streaming Was When First Approached For ‘Stranger Things’

Winona Ryder has enjoyed a well-deserved comeback thanks to Stranger Things. But on top of getting a plum new role, she also received a bit of education. Indeed, when first approached to play Joyce Byers, the actress let slip that she was a little out of the loop on how the entertainment industry had evolved over the last decade.

Per Variety, Shawn Levy, an executive producer on Stranger Things, went on a recent episode of the podcast Happy Sad Confused, where she recalled the first meeting he and the Duffer brothers had with Ryder, which was over tea. It started weirdly.

“She opened by asking, ‘What is Netflix What is streaming Is it like TV but different’ That was the starting point,” Levy recalled. “Yeah, Winona took a little onboarding to explain this emerging form of storytelling called Netflix and streaming.”

Obviously Ryder’s “onboarding” went just swimmingly, as she’s created one of modern TVs most memorable moms. As a result, she’s gotten other choice gigs, ranging from HBO’s adaptation of Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America to the Beetlejuice sequel. In the latter she’ll play another mom, this time to Jenna Ortega who, like Ryder, is becoming part of Tim Burton’s stock company.

Anyway, a belated congrats to Ryder for catching up with the streaming era, which helped her reunite with Keanu Reeves, who is definitely not her accidental husband.