In the 2003 spy thriller The Recruit, Al Pacino’s CIA officer Walter Burke has a catchphrase. He’s “a scary judge of talent,” he says, before committing a string of inadvisable crimes. The Duffer Brothers, no matter what their perceived narrative crimes were during the five-season run of Stranger Things, also seem to be a scary judge of talent.
First, they got behind Haley Z. Boston’s hit Netflix horror show Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, and next month will see their names slapped on The Boroughs, because they, like us, probably believe that The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance was an incredible series cancelled too soon, and its showrunners should get another project asap.
Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews are indeed the creators of the upcoming sci-fi show, which now has a first trailer that seems a little Cocoon-y, a little Batteries Not Included-y, a little Stranger Things with old people-y, and hopefully also has puppets. We can dream!
With a stacked cast that includes Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters, Bill Pullman, Carlos Miranda, Jena Malone, Seth Numrich, Alice Kremelberg, Ed Begley Jr., Dee Wallace, and Jane Kaczmarek (phew!) The Boroughs looks much more like the kind of series you’d expect “from the executive producers of Stranger Things” than their last Netflix delivery. Staring in awe at stuff? Check. The promise of Spielbergian wonder? Check. A sweeping score that tells you supernatural shenanigans are afoot? Check. Locked and loaded.
