The Duffer Brothers' next post-Stranger Things project is right around the corner, with Netflix confirming today that The Boroughs will air on the streamer this spring, as well as revealing some first-look images.
The Duffers executive produce the mystery thriller series, which was created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim) stars Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters and Bill Pullman as a retirement community who uncover a dark secret after a grieving newcomer (Molina) joins their midst. Molina plays Sam Cooper, who is experiencing something of an existential crisis after recently losing his wife.
The 8-part series, which includes episodes directed by Ben Taylor (Sex Education), Augustine Frizzell (Euphoria) and Kyle Patrick Alvarez (The Stanford Prison Experiment) will debut on May 21.
Here's what Addiss and Matthews have to say of The Boroughs in a new statement:
“From the beginning, we knew we wanted The Boroughs to feel equal parts scary, mysterious, exciting and emotional. The challenge was to create a world that could hold all of these different tones at once. Which is why it was so fun to work with the Duffer Brothers – the masters of balancing heart and horror […] According to some very unofficial napkin math, our stars bring something like 350 years of craft to The Boroughs. We knew they would be great. We didn’t expect them to be so fun. They can make you laugh or cry with just a look. Makes it whole lot easier on us writers.”
The Duffers tease more on how The Boroughs is completely different from Stranger Things, most notably due to the sharp contrast in age of the characters it focuses on:
For years, we’ve wondered why no one has made a film like Ron Howard’s wonderful Cocoon since, well, Cocoon. Then, out of nowhere, Jeff and Will emailed us an idea for The Boroughs: a story about retirees and monsters. They were adamant that — unlike so many stories about older characters — this wouldn’t treat aging as a punchline. Instead, it would treat its characters as real people facing real challenges… along with a few supernatural ones. It was exactly the show we’d been dreaming of.
Following the end of Stranger Things late last year, the Duffers have been keeping busy. Aside from The Boroughs, the pair also served as executive producers on Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, Haley Z. Boston's wedding horror series that premieres on March 26, as well as the animated series Tales from '85, the first Stranger Things spinoff coming on April 23.
Check out some first look images of The Boroughs below, courtesy of Netflix, and stay tuned for more as we get it.
