Finn Wolfhard’s ‘SNL’ monologue gets a Hawkins-style takeover

Growing up in front of millions isn’t easy—and Finn Wolfhard knows it better than most. Hosting Saturday Night Live, the Stranger Things star kicked off the night with a candid, funny monologue about maturing on camera—only to have it hilariously interrupted by two familiar faces.

Midway through Wolfhard’s reflections, Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo crashed the stage, turning the moment into a mini reunion. The trio joked about everything from awkward teen milestones captured on screen to the strange experience of growing up while the internet watched—and commented.

Wolfhard’s monologue didn’t shy away from absurdity. After a riff about early fame, the sketch cut to a roaring Demogorgon, sending the audience into laughter. Another gag saw Wolfhard’s character discover he doesn’t like alcohol, promptly spitting out his first sip all over cast member Marcello Hernández.

When McLaughlin and Matarazzo joined in, the jokes turned self-aware. They poked fun at what fans used to say about them online and how surreal it’s been to mature under a pop-culture microscope. The punchline? With mock confidence, they declared they were finally ready to star in “adult films”—clearly meant as a tongue-in-cheek nod to adulthood, not an actual career pivot.

Later in the episode, SNL doubled down on the nostalgia with a sketch imagining over-the-top Stranger Things spinoffs. One standout was “Mike in Manhattan,” a playful parody styled like Sex and the City, starring Wolfhard, McLaughlin, and Matarazzo as grown-up city dwellers. Other bits teased a cable-news-style “Wheeler Report” hosted by Nancy Wheeler, and a sitcom premise where Steve Harrington becomes an inner-city teacher.

The sketch even took a gentle jab at the show’s famously slow-burn moments, joking that one character’s long-awaited coming-out scene was still going on. It wrapped with a wink to fans by referencing a rumored ninth episode—fueling the kind of internet conspiracy theories Stranger Things viewers love.

All told, Wolfhard’s hosting gig balanced honesty with humor, celebrating how far the cast has come while laughing at the odd, unforgettable ride of growing up in the Upside Down—and on live TV.