Saturday Night Live is finally back this weekend to kick off the new year, and the first promo for the January 17 episode has arrived. Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard is making his hosting debut, and if the first look is any indication, things are about to get a little bit weird at 30 Rock.
In the newly released clip, Wolfhard is given a tour of the legendary studio by featured player Kam Patterson. The tour takes a quick detour into the office of Ben Marshall, where the host catches the Please Don’t Destroy star doing some questionable AI “art” involving one of Wolfhard’s own co-stars.
The promo takes a spooky turn when the hallway lights begin to flicker and thick smoke fills the air. Accompanied by those hauntingly familiar synth notes, Wolfhard slips back into Mike Wheeler mode, whispering that the villainous Vecna has returned. However, the “supervillain” lurking in the shadows turns out to be cast member Sarah Sherman, who is apparently just having a very intense reaction to some “extra-spicy beef cubes.”
This episode marks a major milestone for Wolfhard, who previously played an NBC page in the 2024 film Saturday Night, which chronicled the chaotic lead-up to the show’s 1975 premiere. He is now the first of the younger Stranger Things “kids” to host the show.
Joining Wolfhard for the big return is A$AP Rocky, who will be making his debut as the featured musical guest. The rapper is hitting the stage just one day after the scheduled release of his highly anticipated new album, Don’t Be Dumb.
This will be the first episode of the season without longtime cast member Bowen Yang, who departed the show following the Christmas episode. After this weekend, the January lineup continues with Teyana Taylor hosting on January 24 and Alexander Skarsgård taking the lead for the massive 1,000th episode on January 31.
Check out the full promo below to see Finn Wolfhard try to survive the “Upside Down” of Studio 8H.