Saturday Night Live capitalized on having Finn Wolfhard as a first-time host this weekend by producing no fewer than five Stranger Things spinoffs.
What’s more, we also got a look at the “mysterious ninth episode” of the Netflix megahit’s final season “that the internet was convinced existed.”
Having arrived at a certain peace with Stranger Things ending—but then remembering how many millions of people watched the five-season supernatural drama—Netflix announced its commitment to all manner of “sequels, prequels, requels, and spinoffs.”
Among them were Strangerous Minds, about Steve “The Hair” Harrington (Andrew Dismukes) teaching in inner city Los Angeles, and The Wheeler Report, in which wannabe journalist Nancy (Chloe Fineman) finds herself in the back of O.J. Simpson’s getaway Bronco. (“This Juice might have gone bad,” she says into her tape recorder.)
We also got Mike in Manhattan, “from Michael Patrick King”—a Sex and the City-style, cosmo-sipping catch-up with Wolfhard’s character, Gaten Matarazzo‘s Dustin, and Caleb McLaughlin‘s Lucas. (The latter two previously appeared alongside Wolfhard during this week’s monologue.)
“My series of bad dates has been a nev-er-end-ing storrrrry!” sang Dustin. Lucas in turn groused that things with him and Max “started off hot and heavy, and then a couple years later, she just lies there like she’s back in a coma.”
And no, the spinoff machine has not forgotten about Will (Jeremy Culhane); he apparently is still kinda sorta coming out to friends and family over at WSQK. “Guys, I’m gay…ning the courage to tell your truth,” he hedged. “And the truth is: I’m gay…zing at all of your faces.”
Mikey Day starred in Stranger Things: Oops, All Mike’s Dad, who continues to be oblivious as ever to his missing kids and the Demogorgons rampaging through Hawkins. That led into the aforementioned “ninth episode,” which brings “almost all the main kids back,” Netflix promo guy trumpeted.
Cut to Mike, Lucas and Dustin at the spot in Iceland where we last saw Millie Bobby Brown’s wielding character. Mike tried to explain to his friends that the events of the series finale were merely an “illusion” conjured by Vecna, but they demanded a reason to believe him.
“You want one reason? How about Eleven?” Mike retorted, gesturing toward… Kenan Thompson in a hospital gown, wielding an Eggo waffle, and attempting Eleven-like telekinesis.
Watch the complete sketch at the top of this post.
