[EXCLUSIVE] Spending the afternoon with Shannon Purser AKA Barb Holland from Stranger Things
“Okay, you have to tell me what all of this is like.”
I’m dead serious as I pick up my fork to stab a bite of my brisket nachos, sitting at the table of a fast-service Tex-Mex restaurant. It’s the night before Upside Down 80s, a Stranger Things fan convention put on by the San Antonio promotion team, Kings of Horror. Hosting roughly a dozen events a year, the Kings of Horror don’t limit themselves to their genre’s namesake, also putting together fan events themed around cult classic films like Grease. However, this particular event is one they’ve hosted for several years running, and it features some of the stars of the most popular Netflix show, as well as a slew of vendors, themed activities, and a celebration of all things Stranger.
This year’s event timing is perfect, ten days after the finale of the show aired nationwide in movie theatres and on home screens alike, quickly becoming one of the most divisive and hotly debated series finales in pop culture history. After all, when else have we ever seen something as intricate and fanatical as “ConspiracyGate”, the idea that a secret ninth episode existed in which the ‘true finale’ would be aired, which took the internet by storm to the point that even the late-night talk show hosts and cast members were following the topic? The devotion of fans to the decade-long running series runs deep, and this event has a lineup consisting of Randy Havens (the beloved science teacher Mr. Clarke), Regina Ting Chen (the guidance counsellor Mrs. Kelley), Aidan Fisher (the guitar performer for Eddie Munson, who treated fans to a live Metallica shredding performance at the con, safe from demobats!), Mark Steger (the creature performer who portrayed the original demogorgon in the series), and…
Sitting across from me, eating her own nachos, the one and only Barb Holland.
Shannon Purser Photographed by Amanda Rebholz©
Of course, it isn’t actually Barb Holland - Shannon Purser is unapologetically not the mild-mannered geeky best friend to Nancy Wheeler, whose death in season 1 set off a chain reaction of events that has people still using the hashtag ‘#justiceforbarb’ ten years later. Shannon is outgoing, warm, and currently sporting a vintage bomber jacket, a wolf cut and a smile that lights up her whole face - she’s infinitely cooler than Barb was written to be, and like Barb, she’s so much more than people may first realize.
“I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of two shows that became really big cult hits - Stranger Things, of course, but also Riverdale,” Shannon says. Shannon’s character, Ethel Muggs, is a beloved member of the cast featured throughout the show’s seven-season run. “They both have really devoted fanbases who have embraced my characters, which is obviously great. It’s surreal. Especially Stranger Things, I shot my scenes so long ago and the fact that people are still so invested in Barb, still coming up to me saying how much they liked her or wanted better for her, it’s wild!”
She’s not exaggerating - while Stranger Things in particular is an IP that has resulted in everything from scented candles to lunchboxes to sneakers to licensed hand sanitizers, Barb Holland has been granted her own Funko Pop, official t-shirts (including the battle cries ‘Justice for Barb’ and ‘Where’s Barb?’), stickers, an articulated action figure and the most rare and expensive of the licensed Lego mini-figs (a 2009 SDCC exclusive Barb mini-fig can set you back a cool thousand dollars if you can find one). Despite only appearing in a few episodes and some truly terrifying flashback scenes, Barb became one of the most beloved characters, resulting in Shannon receiving a Primetime Emmy nomination for the role.
Shannon Purser Photographed by Amanda Rebholz©
Shannon is openly queer and enjoys playing with gender roles, subverting expectations by modelling for Micheline Pitt’s clothing company La Femme en Noir, one moment in witchy dresses and full goth glam, the next moment appearing tough and handsome in baggy jeans and not a swipe of makeup. Her versatility extends to her talents as well— while most know her for her iconic roles in two of the most popular genre shows in recent memory, Shannon also sings and writes music for the project Sister Seer and recently took a spot behind the camera, writing and directing a short film called “Sisters”. The short, produced by Chelsea Stardust and starring Ava Acres and Grace Jenkins, follows two young women on the run in a small mountain town who cross paths with a creepy trucker and have a monstrous encounter. It is currently being submitted to the festival circuit, and by the way Shannon lights up when talking about it, it’s clear that this is a proud moment for her. As with all films, this is the creator’s baby, and Shannon is hopeful that it finds an audience who can appreciate what she’s done - she divulges to me that she’s already finished a full-length script that she hopes to get made soon.
The next day, as I walk into the packed old two-story shopping mall Wonderland of the Americas, which has been converted for the event into the Starcourt Mall complete with a retro arcade, food vendors selling Demo(hot)dogs, Vecna Burgers and Upside Down milkshakes, a giant inflatable Mind Flayer looming over the main atrium of the mall, I pass by the celebrity autograph signing area and see Shannon sitting behind her table, animatedly talking to a beautiful young woman in full Ethel Muggs cosplay… and at the end of the long day, Shannon volunteers to stay past convention hours to meet and sign for additional people who’ve waited in line for hours for a chance to say hello to her.
In 2026, it’s honestly refreshing to meet someone as authentic and sincere as Shannon Purser - she uses her platform to speak out on politics, equality, human rights and more, she is a true artist paying her dues in multiple arenas, and she hasn’t forgotten one bit where she came from - in many ways it’s easy to see the down-to-earth Georgia girl in her within seconds of conversation, and one gets the idea that while the sky may be the limit for Shannon, her feet will remain firmly on the ground. Considering all that she’s accomplished already before her thirtieth birthday, she has plenty of time left to keep making these indelible marks on the world. But as I watch a little girl in glasses proudly walk past me in her “Justice for Barb” t-shirt and brandishing her shiny new signature from Shannon, I think that the legacy is already cemented.
Interview and photos by: Amanda Rebholtz
