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41 years ago, The Golden Girls Taught us to pay attention to old people, who still have a lot; In the same year, Ron Howard Cocoon Taught us the importance of taking advantage of Alien Eggs for eternal youth. That last one is perhaps a little more relevant to a sci-fi thriller BoroughAlthough it seems it’s been a while since retirees have had the spotlight on television. The new Netflix show features an incredibly talented and completely recognizable cast (Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Dennis O’Hare, Clark Peters and Geena Davis, among others) who deal with a series of strange mysteries in their seemingly beautiful, but completely re-created community. We are due for a senior moment. It’s been so rare lately that I couldn’t come up with a complete list of retirement-related horror/sci-fi/mystery shows that I wanted (and would totally watch), but there are still some solid vibe matches that take us to various quaint little towns to, hopefully, find some old folks taking care of business.
Widow Bay (2026 – )
Another recent addition to the atlas of regrettable vacation destinations is Widow’s Bay, an isolated New England island trying to shed its urban reputation in favor of becoming a tourist destination a la Martha’s Vineyard — but, alas, the timing is not good. Cozy and beautiful on the surface, Widows Bay looks “woke” according to the more tuned-in locals. Mayor Tom Loftus (Matthew Rhys), a relative newcomer, is having none of it—at least until a murderous clown and a waterlogged woman come for him, persuading him to join forces with local eccentric Vic (Stephen Root) who, it seems, is onto something. The show is frequently funny, but also legitimately scary. flow Widow Bay on Apple TV.
Stranger Things (2016 – 2025)
on the surface, Stranger Things And Borough Not a ton more common than the sci-fi/horror angle (and the presence of The Duffer Brothers, who created one and executive produced the other), but the vibes here are oddly aligned. Both shows pay homage to genre movies of the 1980s, and each owe a debt to Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard – though one is set in the past and one in the present, both feel like they could easily exist in the same universe. ET Or Cocoon. You are probably familiar Stranger Things By now, but just in case: cast off an attachment Mostly The kids uncover dark doings in their small Indiana town after a mysterious girl named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) arrives displaying psychokinetic powers. flow Stranger Things On Netflix.
Midwich Cuckoo (2022)
You almost certainly know this story as well The damned villageunder which title it has been twice previously accepted. It’s not quite a perfect adaptation of John Wyndham’s darkly satirical science fiction novel, but it’s probably as close as we’ve come, capturing the novel’s eccentricity if not entirely its sense of humor. A blackout in the titular English village leaves everyone unconscious for 24 hours – and everyone who could potentially be pregnant, is expecting. Emotionally distant children are decidedly creepy, even more so than is normal for children, and things only get more relatable when they develop telekinetic powers. as in BoroughYoung people should not be trusted. flow Midwich Cuckoo on AMC+.
The man inside (2024 – )
There are no weird aliens or horrors here, but we do get some stars-of-your-favorites, a retirement community setting, and some much-needed reminders that “old” doesn’t mean “irrelevant.” Ted Denson plays Charles Nieuwendyk, a hapless retired professor and recent widower who listens to his daughter’s pleas that he find something to keep her busy. He answers an ad for a private investigator looking for someone to go undercover at an elderly-care facility in San Francisco in hopes of finding out who is stealing the residents’ jewelry. As he investigates (and lies to) the people he comes to care for, his job becomes more difficult. Sally Struthers, Margaret Avery, Susan Rutten, Veronica Cartwright, and Clyde Kusatsu are among the most recognizable supporting cast, joined in season two by Mary Steenbergen. A third season is coming. flow The man inside On Netflix.
them (2021 – 2024)
Less of the generational conflict of many of these other shows, but mostly a horror story in a beautiful, made-to-order locale. Beginning in the 1950s, them The Second attacks the Great Migration, when millions of blacks left the South for northern cities and suburbs; Seeking opportunity and escaping in favor of overt racism … slightly more veiled racism. As the Emory family (led by Deborah Ayorinde and Ashley Thomas) moves from North Carolina to the all-white neighborhood of East Compton, each family member is eventually haunted by a different ghost. The picket fence and smiling white faces hiding evil intentions are more terrifying than any audience. The second and final season moves to 1991 LA, a time by which some things have changed while others remain hauntingly the same. flow them on Prime Video.
the frog (2024)
After his wife’s death, Yeong-ha (Kim Yoon-seok) just wants a quiet life in the secluded town where he lives, renting out the house next door as a vacation rental—though he’s not that enthusiastic about it either. (The show gets bonus Streamline points here for being led by a grumpy loner who inexplicably puts himself in a situation where he has to deal with people.) All goes well until a young woman shows up with her son, the same woman who suddenly leaves behind a bloodstain and—more disturbingly—a baby. Although that’s a bit of a spoiler, this very slow-paced and cinematic thriller takes place across multiple time periods – a clever storytelling technique given the show’s unchanging locale. flow The Frog on Netflix.
Castle Rock (2018 – 2019)
The short-lived series took us deep into Stephen King’s favorite location (well, maybe tied with Derry), the mostly beautiful Castle Rock, Maine. There are multiple overlapping stories, but Sissy Spacek’s Ruth Deaver is the main character in the first season, and she takes over for the episode “The Queen”, which is told from the unstable perspective of Ruth, a character with worsening dementia. It was one of the best things on television that year, and one of the scariest things in existence. Borough This plays with the idea that young people don’t take old people seriously, despite being fully informed, while Ruth’s character is one who still has many important things to say, even as her own grip on reality is weakening. The cast in season two is fantastic and includes Bill Skarsgård, a quirky character not Named Pennywise. flow Castle Rock on Disney+, HuluAnd Netflix.
What do you think so far?
Hannibal (2022 – )
Another remote, charming town with some deep, dark secrets (the biggest of which is very strongly hinted at in the title), Hannibal Yuya Yagira stars as Daigo Agawa, a big-city police officer who takes a job in the super cute (and, of course, remote) village of Kuge following some personal trouble. The perfectly charming Goto family runs the town, more or less, and welcomes Daigo and his family. It all seems great—until a mysterious man gives Daigo’s daughter a severed finger as a gift, and his wife Yuki finds the words “Run Away” scrawled on the door of their new home. A few reasons why I am more of an urban person. flow Hannibal on Disney+ And Hulu.
Wayward Pines (2015 – 2016)
Based on a trilogy of Black Crouch novels, this one stars Matt Dillon as a Secret Service agent investigating the disappearance of two fellow agents in the Idaho town of Wayward Pines. Things immediately go awry, and he wakes up from a car accident to find an agent (Carla Gugino), also his ex, apparently settled in the beautiful community—and 12 years older than when he last saw her a few weeks ago. Even more dramatically, the local sheriff (Terrence Howard) enforces a strict “no one ever leaves” policy, on pain of snapping someone’s neck. From there the mysteries pile up. flow Wayward Pines Hulu is And Disney+.
Tales from the Loop (2020)
Beautiful looking anthology, Tales from the Loop Taking place in the small town of Mercer, Ohio – a town that sits on the titular loop, a physics laboratory explores mysteries for which science has no answers. Each episode offers the story of a person or family in a town affected by the work of Loop (founded by Russ, played by Jonathan Pryce), in slow-burning stories about the intersection of technology and human existence. It is based on the conceptual art book by artist Simon Stellenhagen, and successfully ports the book’s striking look and feel. The show often feels like a meditation on some of its sci-fi themes – something a little lighter than that black mirror, And not as horrible BoroughBut still explores the dangers that unchecked science can pose to our humanity. flow Tales from the Loop continued Prime Video.
