TELEVISION PLAY NO UPSIDE FOR POOR BARB

fans of hit Netflix show Stranger Things, the sad news is that cult favourite Barb is definitely not coming back.

But Shannon Purser, who played Barb, never really thought she would be returning as the show gears up for a second season.

“I think that it was pretty obvious that she ( Barb) wasn’t coming back,” Purser says.

“I’m a bit sad about it, but at the end of the day I really admire the Duffer Brothers ( the show’s creators), their talent and their gift for storytelling, and I respect their decision.”

In the show, Barb is killed in an alternative reality known as the Upside Down, but the essentially geeky sidekick to high school student Nancy Wheeler ( Natalia Dyer) became so beloved by fans, a social media campaign started with the hashtag # justiceforbarb.

Just last week, however, the show’s executive producer Shawn Levy broke the news to The Hollywood Reporter that Barb would not be returning, shattering even Purser’s small hope of a return.

Purser she didn’t quite realise how big her first acting job was going to be and nor did her castmates, including Hollywood legend Winona Ryder.

“I know that once I got to read the script and meet everybody in the cast I was so impressed and felt really good about it, but I don’t think any of us could have anticipated the kind of phenomenon it has become,” she said.

Purser will appear at Oz Comic- Con in Melbourne this weekend to talk about Stranger Things and her role in teen drama Riverdale, which also streams on Netflix.