Stranger Things Star Maya Hawke Joins New Netflix Series — Everything We Know So Far

Stranger Things standout Maya Hawke is heading back to Netflix, joining the cast of new series The God of the Woods. Fresh off voicing Anxiety in 2024’s Inside Out 2, the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman keeps her genre hot streak alive.

Netflix has a new crime drama brewing, and it just landed a quietly killer piece of casting: Maya Hawke is stepping into the lead investigator role on The God of the Woods.

What is The God of the Woods?

It is a multi-generational mystery set in the Adirondacks, adapted from Liz Moore's 2024 novel. Moore is running the show alongside Liz Hannah, with both serving as executive producers. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television under the Original Film banner, where Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty are also on the EP roster.

Who Hawke plays

Hawke is Judy Luptack, the first woman to break into a very old-school Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Judy is sharp, steady, and not easily rattled, which is good because her first assignment is a big one: a young girl has vanished from a summer camp in upstate New York, and Judy is the one expected to pull the thread and see what unravels.

The setup

The disappearance at the camp ties back to the powerful Van Laar family, whose name still carries weight in the area. Their 13-year-old, Barbara Van Laar, goes missing from the family campgrounds, and the case stirs up a prior family tragedy that might not be as distant as everyone would like. As the timeline flips between past and present, the version of the Van Laars the town thinks it knows starts to crack, and all the ugly fallout of money and influence begins to surface. It has that slow-burn, secrets-spread-like-oil vibe.

Why Hawke makes sense here

Hawke has been stacking interesting projects, toggling between pop-hit roles and prickly indies. Her range lines up well with a character who has to keep her cool while digging into a mess of privilege, politics, and grief.

• Breakout: Robin Buckley on Stranger Things
• Voice work: Anxiety in 2024's Inside Out 2
• Films: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), Fear Street Part One: 1994 (2021), Asteroid City (2023)
• Up next: Wiress in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, slated for a November release

What we still do not know

For now, Hawke is the only casting confirmed. Netflix has not set a release date yet. But between the Adirondacks setting, a family dynasty in freefall, and a lead who specializes in low-key intensity, this one has real potential.