Stranger Things has always been very clearly influenced by pop culture from its 1980s setting but Season 3 draws inspiration from an unlikely source.
Star David Harbour has confirmed that among the upcoming season’s influences is the 1985 Chevy Chase comedy Fletch. The popular comedy starred Chase as the eponymous reporter that investigates a millionaire that attempts to hire Fletch to kill him after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.
RELATED: Stranger Things Maze Transforms 20 Acres of Corn Into the Upside Down
“The Duffers are so specific each year with the movies,” explained Harbour in an interview with Variety. “Fletch is one movie we get to play around and have some fun with this season, which you wouldn’t expect from Stranger Things and you wouldn’t expect from the Spielberg universe and you certainly wouldn’t expect from a darker season.”
While the Netflix series’ executive producer Shawn Levy teasing that the new season will be the darkest and most action-packed yet, the comparison is not completely out of left field: Jake Busey (The Predator) is joining the cast this season as Bruce, a “morally compromised reporter” which may have parallels to Chase’s investigative reporter from the 80s comedy.
RELATED: Stranger Things Season 3 Partly Inspired By John Carpenter
With Harbour having previously confirmed the third season is inspired by the cinema of 1985 to match its summer of 1985 setting, Fletch certainly fits the bill. Here’s to hoping for references to Back to the Future and Rocky IV will join the Chevy Chase comedy.
Stranger Things stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalie Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Priah Ferguson, Cary Elwes, Jake Busey, and Maya Thurman-Hawke. The third season is slated to premiere in summer 2019.
