Finn Wolfhard was joined by a few of his former Stranger Things co-stars for his Saturday Night Live debut.
The actor kicked off his monologue as host addressing the end of the beloved Netflix show, noting that he was a mere 12-years old when he began on the series and said that it was “so amazing that 400 million people got to watch me go through puberty.”
“I know a lot of people still see me as the kid from Stranger Things, right? But I’m 23 now, and I’m proud to officially announce that I am a man,” Wolfhard asserted. “Oh yeah, that’s right. Things are different now. Like, for example, I have facial hair. Can we zoom in on it? It might only be one hair, but the party starts when the first guest arrives.”
“Meet the new me, the man me. Stranger Things is over, and I’m not a kid anymore,” Wolfhard continued, as Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo appeared, exclaiming, “And neither are we!”
The audience erupted in applause, before they continued, “We’re former child stars, and any time you read ‘Former child star’ in a headline, it can only mean good things.”
Watch his full monologue as host below.
At the top of the first SNL episode of 2026, James Austin Johnson’s President Trump delivered an address catching up on timely topics, including the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the fatal Minneapolis shooting at the hands of an ICE officer.
Elsewhere, Sabrina Carpenter made a surprise cameo during the first skit of the night, a follow-up to the “Boys Podcast” sketch during her Oct. 18 hosting appearance.
Wolfhard recently wrapped the final season of Stranger Things, which he’s starred in since season one debuted in 2016. He reflected on the end of the Netflix hit series in conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, where he noted his “mind was pretty blank when they called ‘cut’ on my final scene.”
“I didn’t have many thoughts. I knew that I was around a lot of the cast, and we wanted to spend as much time as possible taking as much time for ourselves as possible. Experiencing these feelings together was really important,” he added. “When I first read the ending, I felt sad. It was a melancholy way of reading, because I thought it was the perfect way to end. But at the same time, I was sad to say goodbye to the show.”
Wolfhard served as the first host of 2026, where he was joined by A$AP Rocky as musical guest. Next Saturday, Golden Globe winner Teyana Taylor will host with musical guest Geese, while Alexander Skarsgard will join on Jan. 31 as host with Cardi B as musical guest. (The first three hosts of the New Year will all notably be making their SNL hosting debut.)
Nine episodes of season 51 have already aired, as Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Amy Poehler, Miles Teller, Nikki Glaser, Glen Powell, Melissa McCarthy, Josh O’Connor and Ariana Grande all took turns in the leading role.
More to come.
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