SNL Mocks “Conformity Gate” with *Stranger Things* Spinoffs
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SNL Mocks "Conformity Gate" with *Stranger Things* Spinoffs
- During a January 2026 episode, *Saturday Night Live* featured a sketch that parodied the "Conformity Gate" fan theory and imagined numerous *Stranger Things* spinoffs.
- The sketch, hosted by Finn Wolfhard and featuring Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo, humorously addressed the fan speculation about a supposed ninth episode of *Stranger Things*.
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*Saturday Night Live* recently satirized the fervent fan theories surrounding the *Stranger Things* finale, particularly the “Conformity Gate” phenomenon. This theory, which gained traction online, suggested that the final episode’s events were an illusion created by the antagonist Vecna, and that a secret ninth episode would be released on January 7, 2026. Despite the theory’s popularity, no such episode ever materialized.
On January 18, 2026, *SNL* host Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler in the series, was joined by co-stars Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson) and Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair) for a pre-taped sketch. The segment presented a mock trailer for various *Stranger Things* sequels, prequels, and spinoffs. One part of the sketch directly addressed “Conformity Gate,” with the characters in Iceland discussing how “everything we thought happened was an illusion that was planted by Vecna.” Kenan Thompson also appeared in the sketch, filling in for Millie Bobby Brown’s character, Eleven.
The sketch also imagined other humorous spinoffs, including “Strangerous Minds,” a parody of *Dangerous Minds* featuring Steve Harrington as an inner-city drama teacher, and a 90s-set New York City tale where Mike, Dustin, and Lucas discuss their relationships and Mike’s nosebleeds are attributed to “cocaine” rather than supernatural powers. Caleb McLaughlin later commented on the sketch, stating that he thought the “Conformity Gate” theory was initially “dumb” and reiterated that “The show is done, guys.” This wasn’t the first time *SNL* has parodied *Stranger Things*; previous sketches include one in 2018 where host Natalie Portman played Eleven meeting other super-powered children with less impressive abilities.