NC teacher opens up about surprise role in new season of ‘Stranger Things’

From Durham to the Upside Down, the new season of “Stranger Things” is riddled with North Carolina references — along with a guest appearance from a local teacher.

The hit ’80s sci-fi series may be set in Hawkins Indiana, but brothers and Bull City natives Matt and Ross Duffer have included many hometown shoutouts since the show’s premiere. In the fifth and final season, they even hand-picked a familiar face to be part of the action: Hope Hynes Love, their former high school drama teacher, who they credit for pursuing their passion professionally.

“High school was rough for me and my brother. But Hope [Hynes Love] saw something in us we didn’t see in ourselves — and she helped give us the confidence to not only survive those four years, but to move to LA and chase our dreams,” co-creator Ross Duffer wrote in an Instagram post.

She and the Duffer duo have stayed in touch since they graduated from Jordan High School. But Love — who now teaches at East Chapel Hill — was still shocked that she had the chance to get out of the classroom and on set with her former students’ show.

The nationally board certified theater educator spoke with The News & Observer about her surprise role that she landed within 24 hours.

(Note: The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.)

N&O: Have you seen ‘Stranger Things’ before?

Love: “I have a teacher page — @hopehyneslovestoteach on Facebook … So before ‘Stranger Things’ came out, it was getting a little bit of buzz in the Sci Fi community, and I put it up on my page to boost their numbers and I said, ‘Hey, folks, if you’re former students or your current students, these are things that former students of mine are doing … You should watch and support them.’”

“Then I went to China, and by the time I came back from China, it had dropped on Netflix and blown up. I remember being on the train from [Boston] Logan International Airport to where I was picking up my car at the park and ride, and somebody ahead of us said, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m never going to be able to survive work today. I stayed up and binge watched this new series on Netflix. It’s amazing. Have you seen it? ‘Stranger Things?’

“It took my all — like ‘Be cool, old lady’ …. to not stand up and lean over the seat and be like, ‘I taught them!’ So yeah, I’ve been a fan forever.”

N&O: How did you get cast on this season of the show?

Love: “They reached back out after Season 4 and said, ‘Oh, we thought we had a cameo for you in 4, but it had to be cut. Maybe we’ll get a chance to work together in the future.’ I showed that to my husband, like, ‘What a gracious lie of these boys. How lovely are they?’”

“Then [Season] 5 was in the planning stages, and I got an email from them saying, ‘We think we have a cameo. We know you’re super busy. Could you find the time?’

“…You put me on any stage in the world. I’m ready … but camera work is a different calibration, and I haven’t calibrated like that in 20 years… [I told them] ‘If you need me to audition and make sure that I can calibrate back, I’m happy, that makes sense to me, because I realized the level you all are working at’, and they basically said, ‘Yeah, whatever.’

“...In 24 hours, I was on the wheel of being cast.”

N&O: Did you have any influence over your character’s wardrobe?

Love: “For me, as a lifelong director, those were the places that I was most comfortable and really leaned into the process.

“One of the things that I used to say to my students about auditioning is any tricks that you can have to sort of calm yourself down and remind yourself that you are an entity unto yourself. So I would always use the example that I have little temporary butterfly tattoos … and Amy [Parris, the show’s costume designer] took that. If you look at my costumes in Episode 4, the butterflies on my sweatshirt are a reference to that. And you can’t see them, but under the wig, they gave me heart earrings for that first episode, for Love. She did all these little, tiny, beautiful Easter eggs inside of my costume.”

N&O: What was your most memorable part of this unexpected experience?

Love: “Just to be with the boys. We haven’t breathed the same air since they graduated high school. We’ve been in touch electronically, but it was just nice to be in the same space together and chit-chat … It’s different sending a text like, ‘You’re wonderful and I’m really excited for the season’ and to be in the same space and just face to face, say, ‘I am so proud of you both, and this is amazing’ and just to share that moment.”

N&O: Will Miss Harris will be in any other upcoming episodes?

“I don’t know if I’ll be in any upcoming episodes and even if I did, I would pretend like I didn’t know. I’m a firm believer in the anticipation and surprise of stories because it mimics real life. We don’t know what is around the corner — we all have to wait. I am someone who didn’t want to know the gender of my child until they were born. I am firmly against shaking the Christmas presents and I think it should be a misdemeanor to read the last chapter of a book you’ve just started. So, no, I can’t and I won’t share that information, on principle.”

‘Stranger Things’ release dates

The fifth season is being released in three installments: Volume 1 (episodes 1-4) was released on Netflix Wednesday, Nov. 26, then Volume 2 (episodes 5-7) will drop on Thursday, Dec. 25 and the season finale on Wednesday, Dec. 31.

Fans across can watch the finale on the big screen at select theaters nationwide, Netflix announced this fall. (The finale will also stream on Netflix.)

This story was originally published December 23, 2025 at 10:00 AM.