Duffer Brothers’ ‘The Boroughs’ cancelled after one season
The new sci-fi show, executive produced by the 'Stranger Things' creators, only landed last month
by Damian Jones · NMEThe Duffer Brothers’ new sci-fi show The Boroughs has been cancelled after one season.
The Netflix six-episode series, which stars Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Geena Davis and Denis O’Hare as residents of a retirement community that become confronted with a strange set of mysteries, landed last month.
A synopsis reads: “In a seemingly picturesque retirement community, a group of unlikely heroes must band together to stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don’t have…time.”
Despite receiving strong reviews including a four star review from NME, the show, which was executive produced by the Stranger Things creators, struggled for ratings.
Despite clocking up 5.6million in its opening weekend which then increased to 9.5million in its first full week, figures dropped to just 3.7million views the following week, according to Deadline.
The writers of the show, created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, had planned for a three-season arc, and a writers’ room for season two had even opened prior to the cancellation.
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But the elaborate production, along with its all-star cast, also made for a high price tag, something Netflix weighs against viewing when making renewal decisions.
Reviewing the series, NME wrote: “Like Stranger Things, The Boroughs is hard to pigeon-hole. There are elements of family drama, shades of comedy and moments of schlocky horror, but it’s just as intriguing as the Netflix hit’s early years.”
The cancellation comes after another series executive produced by The Duffer Brothers, Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen, also landed in March.
Created by Haley Z. Boston, the series follows couple Rachel and Nicky in the week leading up to their ill-fated nuptials, as they venture out to a family vacation home.
That show scored a three-star review from NME, which was described as a “terrifying miniseries” that “borrows liberally from Twin Peaks“.