By Ben Wright (@Iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)
This review is spoiler-free.
The Boroughs follows a group of elderly residents living in a quiet retirement community who suddenly find themselves caught up in a strange and increasingly dangerous mystery involving unexplained events, hidden secrets, and forces far beyond anything they expected to face at this stage of their lives. Mixing sci-fi, horror, mystery, and surprisingly emotional character drama, the series becomes just as much about the people at its centre as it does the larger mystery unfolding around them.
I think a lot of people probably went into The Boroughs expecting it to basically be “Stranger Things but with older people”, mainly because of The Duffer Brothers being attached. And honestly, after watching it, that comparison really does not do the show justice at all.
Yes, there are definitely sci-fi and horror elements running throughout the series, and there is still that sense of mystery and adventure that fans of Stranger Things will probably connect with, but The Boroughs feels far more interested in grief, ageing, friendship, and mortality than it does simply recreating that same formula. Underneath all the strange happenings and creepy moments, this is really a show about people trying to cope with loss, loneliness, regret, and the reality of getting older in a world that often feels like it has quietly pushed them aside.
And honestly, that is what makes the series work so well.
The show never treats ageing as just doom and gloom, either. There is warmth here, too. Friendship. Humour. The comfort of shared experiences. Even the way the series handles conversations around death and grief feels very honest rather than overly melodramatic. It never feels like the show is trying to lecture you. It just lets these characters exist and work through things naturally.
What I really loved was how well the series balances those emotional ideas with the sci-fi and horror side of the story. One minute, you are laughing at some genuinely sharp bit of dialogue, and then suddenly the show hits you with something surprisingly emotional out of nowhere. That contrast works brilliantly throughout the season and helps the characters feel far more real and layered than you might initially expect.
The story keeps moving without ever dragging. Even when episodes slow down a little to focus more heavily on character moments, it never feels like things lose momentum. The finale may simplify things slightly more than I expected, and a couple of resolutions feel a touch rushed, but honestly, it was not enough to hurt the overall experience for me.
What I appreciated most is that the ending works either way. If Netflix leaves this as a one-and-done limited series, I think it works perfectly well as a complete story. But at the same time, there is absolutely room for a second season if they decide to continue it. Personally, I would be happy with either outcome.
The cast across the board is absolutely fantastic as well. Alfred Molina is phenomenal in the lead role and brings so much warmth, sadness, humour, and humanity to the series all at once. Alfre Woodard and Clarke Peters are brilliant together, too, with both actors bouncing off each other effortlessly whenever they share scenes. Denis O’Hare brings a lot of wit and personality to the show, and honestly ended up being one of my favourite parts of the whole series. Geena Davis also adds a really fun energy whenever she is on screen and fits naturally into the wider group dynamic.
The supporting cast is just as strong. Bill Pullman is excellent, while Carlos Miranda, Seth Numrich, Alice Kremelberg, and Jena Malone all help make the place feel lived in. Nobody feels wasted, and every character feels like they genuinely belong in this strange little community.
Visually, the show looks great, too. The sound design especially stood out to me. There are moments where the atmosphere becomes genuinely unsettling without the series needing to rely on loads of cheap scares. The visuals and audio work together really well to create this constant feeling that something is slightly “off” underneath the surface of the retirement village.
Honestly, I can see this being one of those Netflix shows that sadly gets overlooked because it does not fit neatly into one category. And that would be a real shame because this is genuinely one of the more refreshing genre series I have watched in a while.
The Boroughs is a hidden gem, an emotional sci-fi horror mystery that explores grief, ageing, friendship, and mortality in surprisingly heartfelt and often funny ways. The writing rarely misses, the cast are fantastic throughout, and by the end, the show really gets under your skin in the best possible way.
X-Geeks 