Netflix juggernaut Stranger Things ended its nine-year run on New Year’s Eve 2025, but the internet has other plans. A viral theory dubbed "Conformity Gate" has convinced thousands of fans that Netflix is hiding a secret ninth episode, and that today, January 7, 2026, is the day it drops.

What is conformity gate? More behind the conspiracy theory that had thousands of fans holding out hope for an alternate ending to the series finale

Stranger Things has come to an end, and as the Upside Down industrial complex prepares to churn out more strange things, the show’s biggest fans have a simple question: Where is the real series finale,

Spoilers ahead* Erica Sinclair’s lackluster ending in “Stranger Things” has many on the internet outraged. With “Stranger Things,” there is

A popular "Stranger Things" theory is taking over the internet, leading fans to believe the hit Netflix show will release a secret episode Jan. 7.

On that note: what is Conformity Gate? Fans have found clues throughout the finale of Stranger Things that "prove" another episode is coming, which will allegedly reveal the finale was actually a super meta vision being cast by Vecna (who actually WON). The evidence is abundant, and this TikTok lays it out very clearly:

No secret Stranger Things episode released. Duffer Brothers deny deleted scenes. Fan conspiracy theory debunked by creators.

There is no another finale of Stranger Things. The countdown clock on the website was fake and created to fool fans.

Fans have been speculating that there is a secret 'Stranger Things' episode 9 after the series finale. Read ahead to find out the truth behind these fan theories.

On that note: what is Conformity Gate? Fans have found clues throughout the finale of Stranger Things that "prove" another episode is coming on January 7, which will allegedly reveal the finale was actually a super meta vision being cast by Vecna (who actually WON). The evidence is abundant, and this TikTok lays it out very clearly:

Brand New Day, the fourth film in the MCU franchise. And like the rest of us, the Stranger Things actor learned she'd be in the movie from an internet rumor... "I found out through online theories," Sink told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show,