Things are about to get strange for Will Chase. The former Smash and Nashville star just landed a recurring role on the Netflix hit original series Stranger Things. While much of the highly anticipated second season has been kept under warps, TVLine has reported that Chase will join the show as Neil Mayfield, a father that recently moved to Hawkins, Indiana from California. The role has been described as a “pivotal” addition to the series.
Fans speculate that Chase’s character will be the father of the brother and sister duo Max and Billy, which have previously been announced will be played by American Odyssey‘s Sadie Sink and Power Rangers’ Dacre Montgomery. The theory has yet to be confirmed, though it seems likely. TVLine previously described Max as “a tough and confident girl whose appearance, behavior and pursuits seem more typical of boys than of girls in this era. She has a complicated history and is generally suspicious of those around her.” Billy is the older brother of Max and is rumored to be overly-confident with “a violent and unpredictable nature.”
Chase is not the only familiar face set to join the Stranger Things universe during the show’s sophomore season. Lord of the Rings actor Sean Astin has joined the series as Joyce’s (Winona Ryder) new love interest that will act as a father figure to her two sons, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Will (Noah Schnapp). NBC’s Mad About You star Paul Reiser has joined the cast as Dr. Owens, the new head of the Department of Energy lab in which fan favorite Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) spent the majority of her childhood. Brett Gelman, who previously starred on NBC’s sitcom Go On, will appear as a former journalist turned conspiracy theorist that comes to Hawkins with the mission of investigating a cold case in the town.
In addition to starring roles on NBC’s Smash and ABC turned CMT’s Nashville, Chase has appeared in Hallmark’s The Lost Valentine, USA’s Royal Pains, CBS’s Blue Bloods, and ABC’s short lived drama Pan Am. While filming Stranger Things, he will also be working on two of HBO’s upcoming series, Sharp Objects and The Deuce. Sharp Objects is an adaption of Gillian Flynn’s 2006 best-selling novel of the same name starring Amy Adams, while The Deuce will star James Franco and focuses on the legalization and rise of popularity of the porn industry in the 1970s.
Stranger Things is set to return on October 31, 2017.