‘Stranger Things’ actor reveals they missed fifth season due to cancer
Actor Jennifer Marshall, who starred in seasons two and four of the Netflix series Stranger Things, has revealed that she missed the final season due to cancer treatment.
Marshall played the mother of Max Mayfield, played by Sadie Sink, a teenager in the show who falls into a coma for almost two years while battling with Vecna, the supervillain, in her mind.
Many fans were perplexed as to why the show would write out Max’s mother at a time when parental support is likely needed most.
Seemingly as perplexed as online fans, Marshall took to Instagram to share her dismay at not being included in the fifth and final season: “I had cancer, I get it. But I was in remission during the shooting of season five.”
She added, “Shooting would have helped me obtain my health insurance through the union.”
Ending on a lighter note, she wrote, “Maybe they had too many characters, I don’t know, but obviously Susan Hargrove is the worst mother ever.” In the accompanying hashtags, she wrote, “Cancer sucks, but why?”
The comments came alongside a video captioned “How often I think about where the fuck Max’s mom was during season five,” accompanied by the sound, “Every day. Not all day, every day, but… Every day.”
On New Year’s Eve 2025, the beloved sci-fi show came to an end. Co-creators the Duffer brothers have since confirmed that there will be a Stranger Things spin-off that will investigate the storyline of Henry, who is also the supervillain Vecna. It will aim to answer “lingering questions,” left unanswered by the series finale, but will include “an entirely new mythology.”
Elsewhere, Sadie Sink is making her West End debut as Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London. The show will also star Noah Jupe as Romeo, and will be directed by Robert Icke.
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