Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) looks on in a Season 4 episode of Stranger Things.Credit: Netflix
By
Ryan Aston
Published Jan 29, 2026, 7:55 PM EST
Ryan Aston is a senior contributor for Screen Rant, covering people and entertainment news, having previously covered gaming on the site. He's based in Salt Lake City and has also reported on NBA basketball, film/TV, crime, government, education and more for outlets including the Standard-Examiner, Daily Herald, Nicki Swift, Looper, Heavy Sports, Bleacher Report and FanSided.
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After five seasons and 42 episodes, Stranger Things has officially concluded its main-series run on Netflix, bringing an end to a decade of stories about a group of teenagers from the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, battling otherworldly foes in the 1980s. Now that the show has officially wrapped, one of the series' stars, Charlie Heaton, has revealed that his child is finally enjoying those now-iconic stories for the first time.
Heaton spoke to People at the season 4 premiere of his new show, Industry, telling the outlet that his tween son, Archie, is just now hopping onto the Stranger Things bandwagon despite the series' lengthy run.
He has just started getting into it ... He got to come to set last year and that was really cool.
Archie was reportedly born in 2014 (via Teen Vogue) when Heaton was just 20 years old, and is the actor's only child with his former Comanechi bandmate and ex-girlfriend, Akiko Matsuura. Heaton has largely managed to keep the boy out of the spotlight amid his rise to stardom on Stranger Things. Published photos of Archie have been few and far between over the years.
However, Heaton offered a rare glimpse into his life as a young father during a November 2025 interview with Wonderland, telling the outlet that he had to "grow up very fast."
You have to also learn ethical priorities, too, and you've got to look after somebody. That’s a big thing. You want to give them good experiences and a lot of love.
Since 2016, Heaton has been in a relationship with his Stranger Things co-star, Natalia Dyer, who insisted on one condition for her character Nancy Wheeler's ending on the show. Her character and Heaton's Jonathan Byers also shared a relationship on the series, which underwent a significant evolution as it wore on.
As for his work in front of the camera, Industry is Heaton's first series since the Stranger Things finale, "Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up," was released on New Year's Eve 2025. So far, his performance as James Dycker on the HBO series has been positively received by reviewers. The actor has also appeared in films, including 2020's The New Mutants.
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Craving more on Stranger Things, casting updates, and Tales from '85 lore? Subscribe to our newsletter for expanded analysis, curated interview highlights, and behind-the-scenes context that deepen your view of the show's next chapters. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.That's not to say, though, that fans have seen the last of Stranger Things or its beloved characters. An animated spin-off, Stranger Things: Tales from '85, is currently in production at Netflix. The new prequel series will take place between seasons 2 and 3 of Stranger Things and could reportedly rewrite some of the show's lore. Tales from '85 is currently slated for release sometime in 2026 (via Netflix).
Source: People
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Stranger Things
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Drama Mystery Horror Science Fiction Release Date 2016 - 2025-00-00 Network Netflix Showrunner Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Directors Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz Writers Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock
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