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The Boroughs
The Boroughs is an American science fiction television series created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews and produced by The Duffer Brothers. It premiered on Netflix on May 21, 2026.
| The Boroughs |
|---|
| Science fiction |
| .mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0} |
| Jeffrey Addiss |
| Will Matthews |
| Alfred Molina |
| Alfre Woodard |
| Denis O'Hare |
| Clarke Peters |
| Carlos Miranda |
| Jena Malone |
| Seth Numrich |
| Alice Kremelberg |
| Geena Davis |
| John Paesano |
| United States |
| English |
| 1 |
| 8 |
| Ben Taylor |
| Hilary Leavitt |
| The Duffer Brothers |
| Jeffrey Addiss |
| Will Matthews |
| Joe Lotito |
| Matthew Jensen |
| Michelle Lawler |
| Noëmi Preiswerk |
| Jonathan Alberts |
| Cindy Mollo |
| Christopher Nelson |
| Misha Syeed |
| 40–55 minutes |
| Off Franklin Productions |
| Upside Down Pictures |
| Netflix |
| May 21, 2026 (2026-05-21) |
The Boroughs is an American science fiction television series created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews and produced by The Duffer Brothers. It premiered on Netflix on May 21, 2026.
"In a seemingly picturesque retirement community, a group of unlikely heroes must band together to stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don't have… time."
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Alfred Molina as Sam Cooper, a recently widowed and retired aeronautical engineer who reluctantly moves into a retirement community known as The Boroughs
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Alfre Woodard as Judy Daniels, a retired journalist and a resident at the retirement community
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Denis O'Hare as Wally Baker, a retired doctor who is dying of cancer and a resident at the retirement community
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Clarke Peters as Art Daniels, Judy's husband who lives with her at the retirement community
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Carlos Miranda as Paz Navarro, a security guard at the retirement community
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Jena Malone as Claire, Sam's daughter who convinces him to move into the retirement community
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Seth Numrich as Blaine Shaw, the CEO of The Boroughs
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Alice Kremelberg as Anneliese Shaw, Blaine's wife
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Geena Davis as Renee, a retired music manager and a resident at the retirement community
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Bill Pullman as Jack Willard, a resident at the retirement community
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Rafael Casal as Neil, Claire's husband and Sam's son-in-law
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Jane Kaczmarek as Lilly, Sam's recently deceased wife
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Eric Edelstein as Hank Williams, the head of security at the retirement community
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Dee Wallace as Grace, a resident of the retirement community
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Ed Begley Jr. as Edward, Grace's husband who is in the retirement community's long-term care facility
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Mousa Hussein Kraish as Dr. McGinnis
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Karan Soni as Toby
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Beth Bailey as Kayleigh, the transition manager at the retirement community
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Welcome to The Boroughs" | Ben Taylor | Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews | May 21, 2026 (2026-05-21) | |
| One quiet night in The Boroughs retirement community, Grace, a resident, is attacked by a strange, eldritch creature. Some time later, recently widowed and still grieving, Sam Cooper reluctantly moves into the apparently deceased Grace's former home. After meeting his neighbour Jack, Sam visits the community's corporate owners to try break his contract and move out. Back at his house he finds Grace's husband Edward searching for the "owl in the walls". Edward, suffering from dementia, attacks and injures Sam, believing he is "one of them". Edward is returned by staff to The Manor, a special facility for residents suffering from dementia. Hank, head of security, takes Sam to The Manor to meet Blaine Shaw, the CEO of The Boroughs, where Shaw persuades Sam to spend time in the Boroughs before breaking his contract. That evening, Jack throws a barbecue for Sam, with fellow residents Wally, Judy and husband Art, and Renee. After the barbecue, Sam returns to his house and calls Shaw to tell him he has decided to stay. Later, disturbed by alarms, he enters Jack's house where he finds the creature over Jack's body. | ||||
| "The Mourning After" | Ben Taylor | Jose Molina | May 21, 2026 (2026-05-21) | |
| The next day, Sam reports the creature to the paramedics who collect Jack's corpse, but they instead blame heart failure. Renee reports the theft of quartz items across the community to junior security guard Paz, but his superior, Hank, shuts down further inquiries. Paz and Renee discreetly investigate anyway. At the Manor, Sam visits Edward, who claims he "caught one", and that "The Owl is in the walls. The key is in the light". Sam searches his house and finds Edward's key, with a storage locker number, in a light fixture. Art visits an isolated shack where he grows magic mushrooms, where he mourns Jack's death, but also acknowledges Jack and Judy were having an affair. There he witnesses a large flock of crows all suddenly kill themselves by dashing themselves against the ground. Sam searches Edward's storage locker, but only uncovers an actual stuffed owl, so returns home, where he finds something extraordinary. While a memorial is held for Jack in the local Mexican restaurant, Sam shows his discovery to Wally: "The blood of the creature that killed Jack", which when exposed to light from a TV, explodes in an extraordinary display of energy. Wally declares it "a miracle". | ||||
| "A Pyramid" | Augustine Frizzell | Julie Siege | May 21, 2026 (2026-05-21) | |
| "Forbidden Fruit" | Augustine Frizzell | Keith Sweet II | May 21, 2026 (2026-05-21) | |
| "Another Beautiful Day" | Kyle Patrick Alvarez | Tom Hanada | May 21, 2026 (2026-05-21) | |
| "The Grey Rebellion" | Kyle Patrick Alvarez | James Schamus | May 21, 2026 (2026-05-21) | |
| "Time To Go" | Augustine Frizzell | Yona Speidel | May 21, 2026 (2026-05-21) | |
| "Triple Audible" | Augustine Frizzell | Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews | May 21, 2026 (2026-05-21) |
The eight-part series received a series order from Netflix in April 2023. Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews created the show and are the showrunners. Ben Taylor is directing multiple episodes and is an executive producer, alongside The Duffer Brothers, Addiss & Matthews and Hilary Leavitt on behalf of Upside Down Pictures under the company's overall deal with Netflix.
Bill Pullman, Geena Davis, Clarke Peters, Alfred Molina, Denis O'Hare, and Alfre Woodard were cast in September 2024. Later that month, Jena Malone, Carlos Miranda, Seth Numrich and Alice Kremelberg joined the cast. In November 2024, Rafael Casal, Ed Begley Jr., Jane Kaczmarek, Eric Edelstein, Dee Wallace and Mousa Hussein Kraish joined the cast in recurring roles.
Filming began in September 2024. Filming locations include Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The series premiered on Netflix on May 21, 2026.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 94%, based on 31 reviews, with an average of rated reviews of 7.5/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
- The Boroughs on Netflix
- The Boroughs at IMDb
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