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Cara Buono has had an impressive filmography withMad MenandThe Sopranosunder her belt. Now, the actress known forStranger Thingshas been there with us since the series’ first season — working behind the curtains, providing maternal advice, adding emotion to the plot, and always being there for her children, even when they supposedly push her away.
Also read:All There Is To Know AboutStranger ThingsSeason 5 So Far
The character of Mrs. Wheeler has attracted numerous emotional responses from the audience, ranging from a supportive mother to an unhappy wife to a woman in suburbia looking for a getaway from her humdrum existence. However, by the fourth season, she had accepted and molded herself in her assigned societal role but fans are not too happy about it.
Related article:10 Stunning Pieces of TheStranger ThingsFan Art That The Fans Might Love
Cara Buono’s Transformation inStranger ThingsSeason 1-4
Most viewers fail to realize throughout this process of Stranger Things that one of the characters who also grew and endured along with the original quintet was the character of Cara Buono. The actor played the role of Nancy and Mike Wheeler’s mother and she began as a woman who was busy attending to her infant girl, shunned by her teenage daughter, and too caught up with the first two to see what was happening with her middle child.
Also read:‘That will help speed it up’:Stranger Things5 Won’t Be As Long As Season 4, the Duffer Brothers Reveal
But with the seasons, she grew as a character — starting with standing up to the government to save her son and telling Nancy that it’s okay to pursue her dreams even when the world tries to put her down. She looked for inspiration and release from the monotony herself, which she finally found the courage to do for a handful of moments in Season 3, but that too was refuted when she chose family over anything else.
The Parents of theStranger ThingsFamily
The saga of Eleven and the boys also drew in Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, Robin, and Max. The story about the latter quintet was just as much inclusive to the development of the plot as it was to the resolution of it. But with the threat getting bigger and more dangerous and worse, more people involved or familiar with the monsters from Upside Down began getting pulled in as the others moved away to the side.
Also read:‘She’ll do it for the right reasons’:Stranger ThingsStar Natalia Dyer Talks About Nancy’s Love Triangle
Similarly, the group of the parents in Hawkins received much less attention throughout Season 4 (which was the biggest of them all) and the fans are disappointed at the lack of Cara Buono’s appearance as she was involved in the initial 3 seasons. The fandom has also jumped to her aid when some reduced her to a monochromatic role of a designated hot MILF rather than the important role that she brings to the series and the plot.
https://twitter.com/leylanocontext/status/1542965979013156864?s=21&t=jWeoNqagFNaSpeU8mHYJGg
still fuming about how cara buono had two seconds of screentime like she couldve been utilized so well
— mike rotch (@girlsavingface)June 17, 2025
Duffer brothers should be in jail for three hour tv episodes that feature the guy on the left more than Cara Buono.pic.twitter.com/J6XYuv27lt
— Pugmane 🐾 🐛 🥫 (@pugmane)August 24, 2025
Cara Buono after showing up to the stranger things set every 2 years to say one linepic.twitter.com/B3z3fur5eF
— ♱ (@luxxlisbonn)July 27, 2025
cara buono being main cast for 3 seasons and her character not once being involved in the seasons’ central storyline 😭
— shan ☀️ ceo of 3below (@lgbtarrons)July 05, 2025
People have jumped to her defense by saying Cara Buono deserves more respect, while at the same time, it’s also essential to note that the character of Mrs. Wheeler was intricately involved throughout the story’s developmental phase. In Season 4, there remained hardly any role for Buono to play as the story developing halfway around the country took away the screentime that would otherwise have been allotted to the talented actress.
Source:Twitter/@jazskellington
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2407
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
