Late-night television works best when it feels loose, fun, and a little unexpected. Some of the most memorable moments happen when familiar characters show up in places one would never expect, tapping into shared memories and inside jokes fans instantly recognize.

That is exactly what happened in a nearly a decade-old late-night skit led by Ben Schwartz, where two beloved characters from very different worlds collided. In a playful, tongue-in-cheek moment, Steve Harrington stepped into the spotlight, reuniting with his so-called son, the endlessly chaotic Jean Ralphio. 

In September 2016, a popular fan theory became reality when Stranger Things’ Steve Harrington and Parks and Recreation’s Jean-Ralphio Saperstein appeared together in a skit on The Late Late Show with James Corden. The moment has recently resurfaced after Ben Schwartz revisited it on X.

The segment, co-written by Schwartz, played on fans’ long-running joke that Steve, played by Joe Keery, could be Jean-Ralphio’s father due to their uncanny resemblance and the fact that both shows are set in Indiana. Keery and Schwartz leaned fully into the premise, portraying an awkward but affectionate father-son pair, complete with coordinated outfits, hair jokes, and exaggerated family banter.

For those not well-versed with Parks and Recreation, the show ran for seven seasons between 2009 and 2015 on NBC. Many would now wonder how a character played in a show that ran before Stranger Things even debuted could be the latter show’s character’s son. That is because of the difference in the period settings of the shows.

Stranger Things is set in 1980s Indiana, while Parks and Recreation takes place in the early 2010s, making the latter show's characters younger than the former's. Keery, notably, is not the only Stranger Things star with an A-list Hollywood doppelganger.

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Natalia Dyer, Winona Ryder, Dacre Montgomery, and others have also been reported to have celebrity lookalikes in Tinseltown.

Natalia Dyer’s delicate features often draw comparisons to James Bond potential Timothée Chalamet, while Winona Ryder’s timeless look echoes Keira Knightley. Dacre Montgomery has been likened to Leo Woodall, and Jamie Campbell Bower shares striking similarities with Sam Claflin. Charlie Heaton’s resemblance to Harry Styles rounds out the list. 

These look-alike conversations highlight how much viewers enjoy connecting characters across shows, timelines, and genres, even when those connections are purely playful. The Steve Harrington and Jean Ralphio pairing fits neatly into that tradition, born not from canon but from imagination and shared humor.

What started as a visual coincidence became a late-night moment that still circulates years later, reminding viewers that television’s most lasting bits often come from fan theories, inside jokes, and performers willing to lean into them for fun.

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What do you think of the Joe Keery and Ben Schwartz skit? Let us know in the comments.