THE BOROUGHS – Season One

We’re still living in the era of prestige television and, for the most part, that’s a good thing. Freed from the time and seasonal constraints once imposed by networks, showrunners have given us classic series we likely never would have seen before the rise of streaming. That said, the format is not without its problems. The most persistent of these seems to be knowing how, where, and when to end a story.

While the new Duffer Brothers executive-produced series The Boroughs delivers many of the best aspects of prestige television — including excellent performances, strong writing, and impressively designed effects — it also suffers from what I’ll call ‘The Finisher’s Curse’. This has previously been seen in otherwise excellent series such as Game of Thrones (2011-2019) the Duffer Brothers’ own Stranger Things (2016-2026).

The Boroughs follows grieving widower Sam Cooper (Alfred Molina) as he moves into a seemingly idyllic retirement community. After the highly suspicious death of a neighbour, Sam teams up with a group of quirky senior citizens to uncover the truth behind the mystery.

At this point, many viewers may think: ‘Isn’t that just the plot of every 1980s and ’90s adventure movie?’ Fortunately, the series is fully aware of that fact, and much of its charm comes from embracing it. Without giving too much away, fans of classic adventure, horror, and thriller films will find plenty of Easter eggs throughout The Boroughs. And while nostalgia certainly plays a role, the show includes enough fresh twists and turns to keep things engaging.

The decision to make senior citizens the unlikely heroes rather than a group of scrappy children is particularly compelling. The screenplays draw thoughtful parallels between the casual dismissal of seniors today and the historic tendency to dismiss children as incapable or unreliable. In the 21st-century, we’ve become increasingly concerned with affirming and protecting children, while simultaneously growing less comfortable with the idea of people over 50 retaining wisdom, agency, and independence.

This dismissal of seniors as a class is embodied in The Boroughs through The Manor, a memory care facility within the community. Anyone who has worked in memory care or assisted living may find the show’s accuracy unsettling. The villains not only describe dementia convincingly, but also employ what are still considered ‘best practices’ for interacting with those suffering from the disease, including allowing residents to inhabit their own realities and drift into the past when necessary.

Equally disturbing is a brilliantly written scene between Sam Cooper’s daughter Claire (Jena Malone) and Blaine Shaw, the president and CEO of The Boroughs. Through calm persuasion and convincing concern, Blaine manages to persuade Claire that her father may be showing early signs of dementia. Thinking back on loved ones I’ve cared for with Alzheimer’s, I found myself disturbed by how easily I, too, might have been swayed by Blaine’s performance.

The show’s exploration of love and grief is handled with equal care. Alfred Molina’s moving performance is the cornerstone of the series’ emotional success. Sam Cooper’s grief is never exaggerated, nor is it minimised. Instead, Molina allows it to exist naturally in all its anger, numbness, fear, and exhaustion. In the hands of a lesser actor, the character could easily have become unlikable. Molina instead gives Sam enough humour and heart to carry the audience with him throughout the journey.

Overall, the performances from most of the main cast allow us to empathise deeply with the characters. Geena Davis is another standout as the free-spirited Rene. That said, some of the characters ask the audience to accept morally questionable behaviour with surprisingly little scrutiny. We are meant, for example, to sympathise with Judy (Alfre Woodard), a married woman who carried on an affair with her neighbour. While infidelity may be commonplace in Hollywood storytelling, some viewers may not be so quick to dismiss it. Unfortunately, Woodard also emerges as the weakest link among the main cast. While perfectly serviceable, she never brings the same depth or pathos to Judy that Molina gives to Sam.

Still, aside from that one uneven performance, strong acting, compelling writing, and several genuinely frightening sequences make the first seven episodes of The Boroughs an exciting ride. Indeed, the opening episode is among the strongest premieres I’ve seen in years and is worth watching on its own merits.

By the eighth episode, however, the audience once again encounters ‘The Finisher’s Curse’. Without revealing too much, death is a major thematic concern throughout the series. The showrunners clearly argue that death is a natural and necessary part of life, and that it’s better to die after a meaningful life than to prolong existence through the suffering of others.

It’s a powerful theme and one explored many times before. Yet, like many modern television writers, creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews ultimately seem unwilling to fully commit to it — at least where their favourite characters are concerned. The finale’s reliance on plot armour, overly tidy solutions, and an eagerness to abandon the harsher implications of death in favour of something safer and more comforting ultimately weakens the show’s strongest ideas.

Even so, The Boroughs remains absolutely worth watching. Fans of creature features will find plenty to admire in the show’s strong visual design and impressive effects work. And even the disappointing finale includes a beautiful performance from Alfred Molina that nearly compensates for the anti-climax. The Boroughs is a good show, and I can recommend it without reservation. I can only hope that, should the series receive a second season, its creators will fully embrace their themes and finally overcome the old Finisher’s Curse.

USA | 2026 | 8 EPISODES | 2.39:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

writers: Jeffrey Addis, Will Matthews, Jose Molina, Julie Siege, Keith Sweet II, Tom Hanada, James Schamus & Yona Speidel.
directors: Ben Taylor. Augustine Frizzell & Kyle Patrick Alvarez.
starring: Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters, Carlos Miranda, Jena Malone, Seth Numrich, Alice Kremelberg & Geena Davis.