'Stranger Things' creators honor their old theatre teacher in the final season — and she's still in disbelief

The final season of "Stranger Things" has left the whole fandom buzzing nonstop. For nearly a decade, its creators, Matt and Ross — the Duffer brothers from Durham — never shied away from using their North Carolina influence to build the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. However, in the last season, they took a step further by introducing their former teacher through a cameo in the series. Hope Hynes Love plays "Miss Harris," teacher of Holly Wheeler, the youngest sibling of Nancy and Mike on the show. Interestingly, Love was a drama teacher at Charles E. Jordan High School, which the Duffer brothers attended in the early 2000s, according to WRAL News. 

High school was tough for the Duffer brothers, but their teacher gave them the confidence to chase their dreams, Ross confessed in an Instagram post dated December 1. Their admiration for Love only grew over time, and they stayed in touch even after their graduation. Subsequently, when the fourth season of Stranger Things was released, the teacher reached out to the brothers, congratulating them on the huge success. That's when they told her about a possible cameo in the series. "In 2023, they reached out, and they were like, 'Hey, we don't know if you have the time or you're interested, we know you're really busy, but we think we might have something for you in five,'" Love recalled.

The teacher was obviously over the moon upon hearing of the opportunity, but she had her doubts. Love hadn't acted since her graduation, so she insisted the Durham brothers take her audition and then decide if they wanted her in their series. Consequently, after being finalized for the show, the teacher said she trained for 8 months before stepping onto the Duffer brothers' set. "The first scene that we filmed was with a whole bunch of small people. And I love first day of school energy. And they know I love first day of school energy, and so to put me on a bus full of like 25 12-year-olds that I have to get to know in half an hour, like this is my jam. I know how to do this, right? That sort of modality put me at ease," Love said, recounting her first day on the set. 

Moreover, she said that collaborating with her former students came as a full-circle moment. "I've said it to them, but what a blast to collaborate again and have it flipped around. It takes a certain amount of trust, that actor-director thing, and they trusted me like that [I trusted them] when they were my students," she added. While Love said she doesn't want to take any credit for helping the Duffer brothers realize their true potential, a survey by Study.com found that having great teachers does positively influence the students. They also found that the majority (72%) of students revealed that their teacher inspired them to love a subject they never liked or were weak at.

This explains that having a good teacher makes all the difference. The Duffer brothers also had a tough time navigating their lives in high school, and if not for their teacher, they might have never realized their creative potential. Meanwhile, people loved how the creators honored their teacher by including her in the oh-so-popular series. For instance, @lizjenkins_maebybaby commented, "Wow. How dare y’all be this kind-hearted, respectful, and uplifting as educators all at once?" @sonofaruna wrote, "That is one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard of any creators or directors doing within casting!"

Similarly, @amedelsar wrote, "Oh, wow, it is the most wholesome thing. As a drama teacher, I thank you for giving her back the chance to shine in front of everyone as she did for you all those years ago. It is such a beautiful and generous gesture. I'm sure she's thriving and incredibly proud of you!" @a_.york wrote, "This is so beautiful. This really came full circle, and I know she’s very happy and proud of you both." 

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