Netflix has revealed the premiere date for ‘The Boroughs‘, the upcoming sci-fi drama from the creators of ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’, with The Duffer Brothers on board as executive producers. All eight episodes land in May.
Created, showrun, and executive produced by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance), the series is set in a seemingly perfect retirement community where a grieving newcomer’s terrifying encounter with something monstrous leads him to team up with a ragtag group of unlikely heroes. Together, they uncover a dark secret that reveals their “golden years” are far more dangerous than anyone imagined — and that they’re far more formidable than anyone expected.
The cast is genuinely stacked. Alfred Molina (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Three Pines) plays Sam, the grieving newcomer at the heart of the story. He’s joined by Geena Davis (Thelma & Louise, A League of Their Own) as Renee, Alfre Woodard (Clemency, Salem’s Lot) as Judy, Denis O’Hare (American Horror Story, This Is Us) as Wally, Clarke Peters (The Wire, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) as Art, and Bill Pullman (The Sinner, Independence Day) as Jack.
Addiss and Matthews have described the show as the culmination of a lifelong dream: “When Jeff was a child, all he did was draw monsters. And when Will was a child, he started planning for his retirement. So a show about a group of retirees who fight monsters really plays to both our strengths. The result is an adventure about a group of unlikely heroes that we can’t wait for everyone to fall in love with.”
The Duffer Brothers were quick to get on board once the pitch landed in their inbox. “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 said. “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.”
Comparisons to ‘Stranger Things’ are inevitable given the Duffer Brothers’ involvement, and they’re not shying away from it. “While the characters are a little older than the kids in Stranger Things — they ride golf carts instead of bikes — the spirit is very much the same,” they added. “At its core, this is a story about belonging and growing up — no matter your age — filled with adventure, wonder, comedy, scares, and tears.”
Additional executive producers include Hilary Leavitt under the Duffers’ Upside Down Pictures banner, and Ben Taylor (Sex Education, Catastrophe), who will also direct the first two episodes.
‘The Boroughs‘ Season 1 premieres Wednesday, 21st May 2026, on Netflix in the UK and worldwide.
Login to Geektown