Netflix was teasing something on Jan. 7th
And there could be more Hollywood strikes this year
Netflix was teasing something on January 7th
And it was a VERY big announcement, that even involved the Duffer Brothers. It just wasn’t another episode of Stranger Things.
In case you’re not extremely online, let me tell you about “Conformity Gate.” It was/is a viral conspiracy theory that the Stranger Things finale was actually a lie, and it wasn’t in fact, the real finale.
The theory presumed that Vecna, the show’s villain had created a fake ending, and all the characters were still under his control. Based on many little clues — that easily had other real justifications — fans came up with the idea that a secret 9th episode was going to drop on January 7th at 8 PM ET. That never happened.
But the theory wasn’t wrong about January 7th. Netflix was teasing that date, because it planned a big announcement on Wednesday. It showcased all of its new and returning TV shows that are coming out this year. Basically Netflix was teasing 1/7, because it had a big press release saying: Here’s what’s coming out in 2026 on Netflix.
Including new seasons of Outer Banks, Beef and The Hunting Wives, plus new shows liked Dan Levy’s Big Mistakes and Nick Kroll’s A Hundred Percent. Netflix also confirmed 3 NEW shows produced by the Duffer Brothers are coming: The Stranger Things animated spinoff Tales From 85, a new horror series “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” And “The Boroughs” a fantasy genre series set in a retirement community.
Anyway, conformity gate as a fan theory that imagines an alternate ending is cool, but it’s time to put the notion of a secret episode to bed.
There could be more Hollywood strikes this year
Will 2026 be a repeat of the big work stoppage of 2023? Remember 3 years ago when Hollywood writers and actors went on strike at the same time? It lasted a total of 148 days and stopped all writing, shooting, and promotion of mainstream movie and TV projects.
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA sought and won wage increases, better treatment, and some protections against AI. However, those contracts were under 3-year terms and are once again up for renegotiations this year. SAG-AFTRA will begin negotiating with the studios in February and the WGA’s current contract expires in May.
If things don’t work out how the unions want, there could be strikes. Now, it’s worth noting that just because the contracts are being renegotiated does not mean another strike will happen — strikes are relatively rare. And the industry is still reeling from the big double picket in 2023.
Indiewire says, ‘The reality is no one can afford to be out of work for longer, and just like before, the unions won’t call for a strike unless absolutely necessary.”
But on the other hand, artificial intelligence has only grown in the last 3 years and its threat to actors and writers is arguably greater than what it was in 2023. So will the unions make AI issues a sticking point once again? Maybe. SAG has said it won’t rule out a strike. Personally, I’m optimistic there won’t be strikes — but only time will tell.
Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down A LOT sooner than you think
And we just learned who her official replacements will be. OK so things are finally changing behind the scenes at Star Wars. In case you forgot, almost a year ago - in February 2025, rumors emerged that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy was on her way out. Unhappy Star Wars fans cheered this news. But Kennedy quickly explained that while a succession plan was being worked out she wouldn’t actually be leaving for a while.
Well, flash forward to this week, and industry insider Matt Belloni has reported that time has arrived — Kennedy will reportedly be leaving Lucasfilm this month and her replacement will be the most obvious choice: Dave Filoni, who has been a creative force at Lucasfilm for about 20 years now. But he won’t be going it alone, It appears he will co-run the studio with Lynwen Brennan, Lucafilm’s current president and GM on the business side.
Kennedy leaves behind a mixed legacy. The sequel movies made a ton of money and a couple of TV shows were quite successful: The Mandalorian and Andor. She also developed about a dozen movie projects then never came to be. Star Wars finally returns to theaters this year with The Mandalorian & Grogu and the Ryan Gosling led Star Wars Starfighter movie has wrapped filming.
But it will be interesting to see where Filoni takes the franchise after that.
Bowen Yang just fired back at the haters who claim he has no range
In case you missed it, Bowen Yang has left SNL, he got a big send off on the Dec 20th episode. And on his podcast this week, he reflected on all the good and bad about SNL, specifically mentioning the hate he got occasionally.
“I feel like I was really bogged down [by] the idea that there was no range in anything I did.” His co-host Matt Rogers said it’s a lazy insult, but Yang understood the critique, “I knew I was never gonna play the dad. I was never gonna play the generic thing in sketches. It’s a sketch show … it plays on archetypes.”
But he explained that he came to the show as who he is: A gay Asian man and so “People had their over-determinations on what I was. So anytime I would try to work outside of that, it got completely ignored or it still got collapsed to, ‘Oh, he’s being gay and Asian as always.’”
It sounds like Bowen has come to terms with it, but Matt made a very good point, saying, “You did so many things. I don’t think people necessarily know they’re being homophobic when they say that,” and Yang agreed: “I think range is a myth and it’s all about palatability.”
And then Rogers really summed it up, “Do they knock Pete Davidson for range? Or does he get to get away with it because it’s cool and within a male gaze?” Very good point.