The first episode of 2026 of “Saturday Night Live,” (SNL) a live sketch-comedy television show, aired January 17th, featuring “Stranger Things” star Finn Wolfhard as the host and A$AP Rocky as the musical guest, bringing a studio full of talent to New York City.

The 90 minute episode featured many celebrities,  began with Wolfhard delivering a monologue with jokes about his time on “Stranger Things,” and ended with a surprise appearance from his co-stars from the show, Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo. They were subsequently shown in skits together regarding the ending of the popular show and scenes from it, briefly referencing viral conspiracies about a secret episode which circulated quickly amongst the fanbase within the sketches as well. Although many fans found the comments
funny, numerous people online have also been criticizing the nature of the jokes.

Wolfhard was then involved in various skits, showcasing recurrent humorous themes that make SNL familiar to its many fans. Multiple of these satirical performances went viral online, such as a Harry Potter parody called “Heated Wizardry,” a name based off a new television phenomenon, “Heated Rivalry.” In the skit, Wolfhard played Harry Potter and collaborated with several SNL comedians and actors in the performance, with anothe surprise appearance from Jason Momoa playing Hagrid.

Additionally, a lighthearted and sarcastic segment mocking podcasts and aspects of teen vocabulary and snack culture was aired, and starred Wolfhard, A$AP Rocky and Sabrina Carpenter, a well-known pop artist as a surprise guest. In addition, Chloe Fineman and Jane Wickline, both notable SNL cast members, played similar roles next to Carpenter. Between these skits, A$AP Rocky performed three songs from his new album as the musical performance, captivating the audience with his stage presence.

As one of the youngest hosts of recent SNL seasons, Wolfhard alongside his cohosts on the 998th episode of SNL brought laughter and a sparkling beginning to 2026 with many jokes