SPOILERS: This column contains potential spoilers for “The Boroughs.”
Netflix’s newest sci-fi series “The Boroughs,” released May 21, offers a delightful and increasingly more mature take on a genre that has proved successful for the streaming platform with shows such as “Stranger Things.”
After the popularity of “Stranger Things,” which revolves around a group of kids uncovering government secrets in the 1980s, I have attributed a certain cosmic and nostalgic vibe in film to anything Matt and Ross Duffer, the showrunners, related. And it was their position as executive producers in “The Boroughs” that became very prevalent in my viewing experience.
The series features similar aspects of the supernatural, as characters discover new creatures and secrets about their universe. However, the show also heavily divulges from the Duffer Brothers’ previous work by focusing on retirees instead of teenagers.
The series immediately kicks off the concept of old age and living with limited time when protagonist Sam Cooper (Alfred Molina) goes to live in the Boroughs, a utopic retirement neighborhood out in the desert after his wife passes away. While the idea was originally his wife’s, Sam is still contractually bound to live there by the retirement community and is urged by his daughter to go.
Upon arriving, Sam initially has trouble socializing with his neighbors due to his stubborn personality. However, once he begins to accept his new living situation, Sam starts to make friends, and the harsh secrets of the neighborhood begin to reveal themselves.
Through a barbecue party hosted by his incessant neighbor Jack (Bill Pullman), Sam meets former rock-and-roll manager Renee (Geena Davis), former investigative reporter Judy (Alfre Woodard) and her philosophical husband Art (Clarke Peters), and retired doctor Wally (Denis O’Hare). Together, they work to solve the communities’ mysteries.
I really enjoyed the diverse range of skills demonstrated by the group of neighborhood misfits that Sam befriends and how those skills all help solve the corrupt staff’s mysterious youthfulness. This youthfulness comes from their inhumane harvest of magic amber blood from a creature called “Mother” who represents an older lady, becoming noticeably drained in the operation’s mission to live forever.
While previous ragtag sci-fi crews consist of a group of like-minded friends, this team is constructed of very different neighbors, all with varying backgrounds and portfolios of experience.
I feel it was the wide range of expertise in this seemingly random crew that allowed them to eventually triumph over the community’s oppressive owner Blaine (Seth Numrich). Their different perspectives also became quite refreshing, approaching the same problem with different tactics.
For example, Wally wanted to use cerebrospinal fluid, the bodily contents which attract the spiderlike “children” to feed off the elderly residents, as bait in killing the monster. Conversely, Sam used a technical approach in making a makeshift particle accelerator to scramble the monsters' cells. While the team originally believed that the monsters were the killers, the true evil lurks deeper within Blaine’s team.
Surrounding the series around a community of older, retired adults felt rare in a movie scene that often targets younger audiences.
Having the series situated within a retirement community also heavily affected the way the story developed. Most of the retirees were treated as insane when explaining the atrocities they have seen hidden within the community. Community members deemed “insane” were dedicated to “The Manor,” a facility designed for patients experiencing conditions or diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Had the community consisted of any other age demographic, I feel like the sincerity of their statements wouldn’t have been as questioned.
As the series progressed, the pressure felt immense from the viewer’s standpoint, and I was on the edge of my seat as everything seemed to go wrong all at once for the group. What became the most inspiring part of the series was that, despite all this, the team succeeded.
At the end, it was no wonder that the group ultimately defeated their corrupt foes. Not only had they established the team as a skillful crew, but throughout the series, it was clear they had developed an immense connection.
My favorite aspect of the show, however, became the time-altering secrets hidden within the community, becoming even more pertinent in relation to many residents’ older age. The secrets of how to keep young felt like gold that everyone was searching for, especially Blaine and his evil team.
But the complicated nature of how to achieve eternal life proved that the wish to live forever was impossible. The effects became gruesome as each member of Blaine’s team, all of whom were consuming the life-altering liquid, began to deteriorate if they did not drink the potion daily. To me, it felt like an appropriate commentary on how living forever can only result in regret.
For those who have grown up watching “Stranger Things” or those who enjoy more mature sci-fi adventures, I would heavily recommend “The Boroughs.” If you are interested in shows that discover the reality of time like me, this series is perfect for you.
