Actress Cara Buono, best known for her role as Karen Wheeler in the popular series ‘Stranger Things’, is welcoming the New Year on a light-hearted note with her new “bestie” Vecna played by Jamie Campbell Bower. Cara took to Instagram to share a picture of herself with Jamie, who is dressed as the menacing Vecna, as the two sit atop a golf cart.
The image appears to be from the sets of the recently concluded series ‘Stranger Things’, offering fans a fun behind-the-scenes glimpse. In the caption, the actress reminded fans to keep things in perspective, writing that the New Year is “just a calendar change,” while wishing everyone a happy start to 2026.
She wrote: “Rolling into the new year with my bestie Vecna. Friendly reminder: it’s just a calendar change. Happy New Year! Oh yeah, not Alice Creel. #strangerthings #golf #newyear #besties.” Stranger Things combines elements of horror, science fiction, mystery, and coming-of-age drama.
Set in the 1980s, the series centers on the residents of the fictional small town of Hawkins, Indiana, after a young girl with psychokinetic abilities, named Eleven, opens a gateway between Earth and a hostile alternate dimension known as the Upside Down at a nearby human experimentation facility.
The cast includes Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Matthew Modine, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, Dacre Montgomery, Sean Astin, Paul Reiser, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Brett Gelman, Linda Hamilton, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Nell Fisher.
The Duffer Brothers developed Stranger Things as a blend of investigative drama and supernatural horror with childlike wonder, infusing references to the popular culture of the 1980s. The show also drew inspiration from Cold War-era experiments and conspiracy theories involving secret government programs. The finale episode was released on January 1 on Netflix.