Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour are trading Hawkins for the world of international espionage in a new Netflix drama from Adolescence writer Jack Thorne. The Stranger Things co-stars will reunite as an estranged daughter and father in the currently untitled series. Brown and Harbour will both star and executive produce, with A24 producing the drama.
Harbour will play Matt Wolfe, a disgraced former FBI agent who has since built a career as a security expert. Matt is pulled back into the world he left behind when his estranged daughter Rebecca, played by Brown, disappears during a mission. Rebecca followed in her father’s footsteps and became an FBI agent herself, leaving Matt with no choice but to return to a field that has changed considerably since his departure. The series will follow his search for Rebecca while exploring the fractured relationship between the pair, with Netflix describing the project as a spy drama built around a deeply personal family story.
Thorne will write and executive produce the series. The project continues Thorne’s relationship with Netflix following the success of Adolescence, which became one of the streamer’s most-watched English-language series. Thorne is also behind Netflix’s adaptation of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, alongside previous projects including Wonder, His Dark Materials and Help. Brown will executive produce through PCMA Productions alongside Jake Bongiovi and Robert Brown. Harbour will also executive produce, with Joe Hipps and Patrick McDonald representing Cut To and KC Wenson representing Bravo Axolotl.
Jinny Howe, Netflix’s head of scripted series for the US and Canada, said Thorne’s strength lies in finding the human story within a thriller, while describing Brown and Harbour’s reunion as something audiences will love.
Brown and Harbour spent five seasons playing Eleven and Jim Hopper in Stranger Things, with their relationship becoming one of the emotional centres of the Netflix series. Their new roles appear to reverse some of that familiar dynamic. Rebecca is now the highly trained agent following in her father’s footsteps, while Matt is the estranged parent forced to return to action after she vanishes.
For CultureCues, seeing Brown and Harbour together again already gives the series an immediate reason to tune in. Their chemistry helped make Eleven and Hopper’s relationship so memorable, but placing them inside a more grounded spy thriller should allow them to explore a very different kind of father-daughter story.
Netflix has not yet announced a title, further casting, filming dates or a release window for the series.
Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.