Collider: No secret Stranger Things episode appeared on January 7

Collider reports that a weeklong fan theory claiming Netflix had hidden a secret bonus Stranger Things episode scheduled to drop on January 7 proved false: nothing new appeared and the published finale remains unchanged.

The theory, dubbed "#ConformityGate," held that a concealed epilogue would recontextualize elements such as Byler (the relationship between Mike and Will). TikTok theories, Discord threads and countdown posts, together with vague comments from the Duffer Brothers and a few production errors, fueled the belief. Production logistics would have required contracts, localization, union approvals and backend updates across Netflix’s platform, and according to the report none of that happened; no leaks surfaced and no credible outlets reported a secret episode. In an interview with Steve Weintraub the Duffer brothers said nearly everything they filmed made it into the final product, with Matt Duffer adding, "No. I mean, the only thing that got trimmed down a little bit was the teens on the rooftop scene... it was five minutes longer, so that got [cut] down. So there's an extended version of that. But no, throughout the course of Stranger Things, there's been only one scene that's been deleted, all the way back in Season 1..."

Netflix has made no public statement. For now the on‑screen finale stands as the series conclusion and Stranger Things is streaming in its entirety on Netflix.

Key Topics

Culture, Stranger Things, Netflix, Duffer Brothers, Conformitygate, Byler