Stephen King: 'Stranger Things' Villain 'Deserves His Own Show'
The legendary horror author takes to Twitter to discuss a much-needed Yuri spinoff.
Nikola Djuricko stars as Yuri.
Just like the rest of us, horror legend Stephen King has been watching Stranger Things 4. On Saturday, the novelist tweeted out an idea for a spinoff show focused on one of this season's (non-creature) bad guys.
"I love that slimy, slinky Russian guy Yuri," King wrote. "He deserves his own show. Like BARRY, only Russian."
STRANGER THINGS: I love that slimy, slinky Russian guy, Yuri. He deserves his own show. Like BARRY, only Russian.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 4, 2022
Stranger Things describes Yuri, who's portrayed by actor Nikola Djuricko, as "a seedy and unpredictable Russian smuggler who loves bad jokes, cold hard cash, and crunchy style peanut butter." On the show, Yuri is the middleman in a deal between Joyce and a prison guard named Enzo, tasked with collecting payment from Joyce and helping Hopper in the last leg of his escape from a Russian prison camp. (Spoiler: Because of Yuri, the plan goes awry.)
HBO's Barry is a dark comedy series starring Saturday Night Live alum Bill Hader. In the show's first season, Hader plays a depressed hitman who winds up joining an acting class in Los Angeles.
The first seven episodes of Stranger Things season 4 arrived on May 27. Two more episodes from the two-part season, including a finale episode that reportedly exceeds two hours, land on July 1. Stranger Things 4 racked up 286.8 million hours watched in its first three days, which is more than the second season of Bridgerton.
Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers are longtime King fans. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Ross Duffer said "growing up, he was such an inspiration. He's like a god to us." King is clearly a fan of the show, too. On Wednesday, he tweeted that, "The new season of STRANGER THINGS is really cool--as good or better than the previous three. There's even a CARRIE riff."
But the author also called the show's two-part release "kind of lame."
A Twitter account for the Stranger Things writer's room responded, writing "Sorry Uncle Stevie, 8+9 aren't done yet, but we're working as fast as we can! Glad you're enjoying and that you picked up on our super subtle Carrie riff."
