{"id":202842,"date":"2026-03-13T11:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/202842\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T11:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:08:11","slug":"stranger-things-star-jake-connelly-serves-up-combos-at-raising-caines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/202842\/","title":{"rendered":"Stranger Things Star Jake Connelly Serves Up Combos at Raising Caine’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Undoubtedly, one of the strongest aspects of the fifth season<\/a> of\u00a0Stranger Things<\/a>\u00a0is the introduction of \u201cDelightful\u201d Derek Turnbow, as played by Jake Connelly<\/a>. Starting as a bully who eventually becomes a beloved member of the crew, Jake Connelly made quite an impression, becoming a focal point in the fan community. After the show\u2019s conclusion, many have wondered what\u2019s next for Connelly? As it turns out, the first stop after the Upside Down is the star\u2019s first brand deal with beloved chicken finger-based fast food chain, Raising Cane\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On March 10, 2026, But Why Tho? was invited for a look behind-the-scenes at the filming of an advertisement for the restaurant at one of their locations in Plano, Texas. Sitting across from Jake Connelly in the commercial shoot was none other than Raising Cane\u2019s co-founder, Todd Graves<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When asked why this particular location was perfect for the shoot, Graves said, \u201cIt\u2019s one of our new prototypes [in terms of] the interior design,\u201d while adding \u201cour restaurant support office is right down the road,\u201d and noting that \u201cthe proximity is really close for the crew so we can go back and do some more things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stranger Things\u00a0fans are going to be in heaven once they see the finished advert.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Jake<\/p>\n

It seems like the grind never stops for Graves, who, along with making delicious, tender sandwich combos (with the secret Cane\u2019s sauce included, of course), was quite the natural working with Connelly on the commercial. It was quite the pleasure seeing Graves and Connelly exchange banter that included many pointed references to the Delightful Derek character.<\/p>\n

Unlike his abrasive\u2014but lovable\u2014character on the show, Jake Connelly was nothing but kind, enthusiastic, and professional during the shoot, able to re-adjust a line read or punch up a line at a moment\u2019s notice. Stranger Things\u00a0fans are going to be in heaven once they see the finished advert.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After shooting the scene that will undoubtedly be the centerpiece of the commercial, Jake Connelly and Todd Graves sat down for a press conference to answer everything about Raising Cane\u2019s and\u00a0Stranger Things.\u00a0We had to know how the experience of this shoot compared with the blockbuster-level shoots for the Netflix<\/a> flagship\u2019s final season.<\/p>\n

To that, Connelly answered, \u201cThe weird thing is it kind of reminds me a lot of\u00a0Stranger Things\u00a0with all the lights and cameras. It\u2019s a really cool experience to have such a huge crew on\u00a0Stranger Things, just having hundreds and hundreds, and maybe even thousands of people coming up and touching you, putting make-up on you, and doing your hair. I really do enjoy doing a couple of shoots that have a smaller crew like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the sandwich meal for the first time, and I fell in love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jake<\/p>\n

One of the biggest questions going into this press conference<\/a> was how this unique collaboration came about. To that, Todd Graves was quick to answer, \u201cI was a huge fan of Stranger Things, especially the fifth season, when Jake came in\u2026 so I was just like, we got to get Jake to do [Raising] Cane\u2019s. And luckily, he was a Caniac.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jake Connelly\u2019s first time having Raising Cane\u2019s was when one opened up in his hometown of Chicago. The first time I had ever had it, we picked it up for takeout because we saw, \u2018Oh, it was this new chicken tender place.\u2019 And, you know, my brother, he\u2019s kind of a picky eater, and chicken tenders are about the only thing that he ever eats,\u201d Connelly continued, \u201cI had the sandwich meal for the first time, and I fell in love.\u201d On his current order preference, Connelly clarified he prefers the \u201cbox combo or the three finger combo. I always love getting an extra toast too, my favorite thing ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naturally, at a certain point, the conversation turned to Jake\u2019s time on Stranger Things. He described arriving in Atlanta, where, as he explained, \u201cI was sitting right next to Joe Keery<\/a> and Gaten [Matarazzo].<\/a> It was so much fun, we were throwing paper at Charlie [Heaton]<\/a> and each other.\u201d Connelly added on a wholesome note, \u201cThey made feel like I was there since season one. It was such a comfortable atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most exciting answer during the press conference was what Jake wanted to do next in his career.<\/p>\n

\"Jake<\/p>\n

On which Raising Cane\u2019s meal he would order after a day of fighting monsters in the\u00a0Stranger Things\u00a0world, Jake Connelly enthusiastically suggested the Caniac combo due to its six chicken fingers. When asked whether fighting Demogorgons and such in the Upside Down or feeding hungry customers would be more difficult, Connelly hilariously answered that it would be hard to choose, because \u201cI know if my brother came in here, he\u2019d be ravaging the whole place. He would be scavenging for his chicken fingers anywhere he could find.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most exciting answer during the press conference was when a fellow journalist asked what Connelly would like to do next in his acting career. Jake was quick to answer: \u201cI feel like I would love to do a Marvel<\/a> or a DC<\/a> or Star Wars<\/a> movie next, because that would be so much fun.\u201d Connelly elaborated, \u201cIt\u2019s probably kind of the same as Stranger Things with the atmosphere being an action thriller, but I\u2019m really looking forward to things to come. I\u2019m really hoping that I can get a couple more projects in the future. That would be really awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the press conference concluded, Todd Graves and the camera crew took Jake into the back-of-house of Raising Cane\u2019s to learn some shift responsibilities. There, Jake learned how to butter the Texas Toast and throw it on the griddle, batter the chicken and put it in the fryer, and pump the Cane\u2019s sauce out of its giant container. After doing the latter, Connelly jokingly pretended like he was going to take the vat of sauce home with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The swarm of fans shouting some of Delightful Derek\u2019s lines was an unforgettable experience.<\/p>\n

\"Jake<\/p>\n

Once the basics were nailed down, a few lucky fans<\/a> got the chance to be served by Delightful Derek himself. The drive-thru customers seemed starstruck as the person handing them their order was the\u00a0Stranger Things\u00a0season 5 breakout, barely disguised by a Raising Cane\u2019s hat and a headset.<\/p>\n

Where Jake Connelly really flourished was working the front counter, where he, all smiles, served Box Combos to hungry fans, snapped selfies, and cracked jokes with Todd Graves by his side to help him get the hang of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The morning\u2019s festivities at Raising Cane\u2019s concluded with Jake and Todd walking out to greet a crowd of adoring fans, mostly teenagers, likely having cut class on this Tuesday morning to be there. The swarm of fans, shouting some of Delightful Derek\u2019s lines from the show, brought to mind images of Beatlemania. Jake handled the crowd like a true professional, answering as many questions and snapping as many pictures as he could with his signature charm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the event wound down, excitement filled the air: excitement for Jake Connelly\u2019s career prospects, excitement for Raising Cane\u2019s, and excitement for the role they play in each other\u2019s lives. The Upside Down<\/a> and Raising Cane\u2019s crossing paths wasn\u2019t something expected, but seeing that collaboration happen made for an unforgettable experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Undoubtedly, one of the strongest aspects of the fifth season of\u00a0Stranger Things\u00a0is the introduction of \u201cDelightful\u201d Derek Turnbow,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[160,162,161],"class_list":["post-202842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-plano","tag-plano","tag-plano-headlines","tag-plano-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}