‘The Boroughs’ Is Netflix’s Most Acclaimed New Show of the Year, and the Duffer Brothers Helped Make It Happen
Netflix has rarely assembled a genre series quite like ‘The Boroughs’. Created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, the same duo behind ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’, the eight-episode series is set in a seemingly picturesque retirement community in the New Mexico desert, where a group of unlikely residents must confront an otherworldly threat stealing the one thing they can least afford to lose.
Alfred Molina leads the cast as Sam Cooper, a newcomer who unwittingly stumbles upon a sinister secret lurking beneath the community’s tranquil surface, alongside Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Bill Pullman, Clarke Peters, and Denis O’Hare. Behind the camera, Matt and Ross Duffer serve as executive producers through their Upside Down Pictures banner, the production company they built after wrapping ‘Stranger Things’.
The critical verdict since its premiere has been nothing short of extraordinary. The official Rotten Tomatoes account announced that ‘The Boroughs’ has earned a Certified Fresh rating of 96% on the Tomatometer, based on 50 reviews. That score surpasses the initial critical response to every season of ‘Stranger Things’, making this the highest-rated project connected to the Duffer Brothers to date.
TV Insider described the show as a supernatural romp grounded in a Stephen King-like fusion of the ordinary and the fantastic, bolstered by what it called Spielbergian warmth and wonder. Variety called it a delightful and intriguing adventure, singling out its thoughtful character work and willingness to wrestle with themes of aging, mortality, and legacy through a genre lens. A more measured note came from The Hollywood Reporter, which acknowledged the obvious talent on screen while suggesting the plotting did not entirely live up to the richness of the central concept.
That the series exists in such an unconventional form is partly the result of the Duffer Brothers lending their considerable industry clout to the project. Co-creator Will Matthews told Deadline that when the Duffers came calling after forming Upside Down Pictures, he and Addiss recognised a specific creative window opening up before them. Matthews explained they deliberately set out to make something “super arty and weird” that could only exist with the Duffer Brothers in their corner, a pitch Netflix reportedly responded to by describing as surprisingly commercial.
The creators have also confirmed a three-season arc is in place for ‘The Boroughs’, and the early reception suggests Netflix may well give them the runway to see it through.
From the beginning, Addiss and Matthews set out to build a world capable of holding terror, mystery, excitement, and genuine emotion all at once, a tonal balance critics seem to agree they have largely struck with this debut season. With all eight episodes now streaming, the comments section is yours to settle the debate that really matters: does ‘The Boroughs’ have what it takes to stand alongside ‘Stranger Things’ in the Duffer Brothers’ legacy, or is this just the beginning of something even bigger?
