In Stranger Things , nothing dramatic “happens” to Will’s dad on-screen — he’s basically written out after season 1, and the show never gives him a big fate or death twist.

Who Is Will’s Dad?

Will and Jonathan’s father is Lonnie Byers, Joyce’s sleazy, mostly absent ex-husband.

He lives away from the family (the show notes he moved to Indianapolis) and has very little contact with his sons.

What Happens In Season 1?

  • Lonnie only shows up when Will goes missing, acting like a concerned dad but clearly eyeing money from the situation (insurance/payouts).
  • Joyce realizes he doesn’t really care about Will and kicks him out, and after that he simply leaves Hawkins and the story.

After Season 1: Why He Disappears

  • The series never shows Lonnie reacting to Will actually being alive or to the Upside Down; he’s just not mentioned again on-screen.
  • Writers have focused on Joyce as a single, fiercely protective parent, so Lonnie’s absence mostly serves to underline how strong and independent the Byers family is without him.

Fan / Forum Discussion

Online discussions often say Lonnie’s storyline is “done” — he existed to explain the broken family dynamic and then was dropped.

Some fans speculate he still thinks Will died, or that Joyce just never bothered to tell him because he only showed up for money, but that’s fan theory, not confirmed canon.

TL;DR: Will’s dad, Lonnie Byers, is a deadbeat ex-husband who shows up briefly in season 1, gets kicked out, moves on with his life off-screen, and the show never revisits what happened to him.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.