The Boroughs - SPOILER FREE Review

On May 21, one of the most unexpected sci-fi hits of the year arrived on Netflix in the form of The Boroughs. Immediately upon its streaming premiere, The Boroughs was compared to the biggest breakout success that the genre has produced this generation, Stranger Things, which comes as no surprise for anyone who has seen either series.

That being said, The Boroughs is not Stranger Things, no matter how much they share in common (including being executive produced by The Duffer Brothers). Because this is a spoiler free review, meaning I'm not giving away anything that can't be gleaned from the logline and trailers, I won't be diving too deep into what separates the science-fantasy inherent to both shows, although that doesn't mean the differences won't be readily apparent by the end of this review.

At least, that's what I'm aiming for here. With that, let us walk headlong into The Boroughs-

What Is The Boroughs All About?

Created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, who executive produce the series alongside Ben Taylor , Hilary Leavitt, and Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer, The Boroughs stars Alfred Molina as Sam Cooper. Retired, recently widowed, and seemingly locked into a contract that his late wife signed prior to her tragic passing, Sam makes the move to the eponymous unincorporated, largely autonomous and, more importantly, overtly ominous desert retirement community known as The Boroughs.

On the surface, The Boroughs is an odd if generally mundane retirement community, one which is capable of caring for its residents at every possible stage in their lives. If anything, The Boroughs comes off as a poor investment at best and the beginnings of a multi-level marketing scheme at worst. At least, that is the case at first glance.

Right alongside Molina's Sam Cooper in the leading ensemble cast of The Boroughs are Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters, Clarke Peters, and Geena Davis in the roles of Judy and Art Daniels, Wally Baker, and Renee. Although all four are fellow residents of The Boroughs, they all have vastly different reasons for being there, as well as vastly different outlooks on the community itself.

At the same time, all of these leading characters are keenly aware of the fact that something isn't quite right in The Boroughs. So too is Carlos Miranda's Paz Navarro, a security guard at The Boroughs who joins in the main group of retirees' uncanny adventure.

How The Boroughs Ties Back to Stranger Things

Apart from the general trappings and tropes of science-fiction, the presence of literal monsters lurking in the shadows, and an underlying conspiracy that taints almost everything within The Boroughs, the most important thing the series shares in common with Stranger Things is its deep-running theme of found family. Like Stranger Things, The Boroughs is all about a group of misfits coming together to form a bond stronger than any other, even if the latter misfits in question are several decades older than the former.

Of course, the entire conceit of The Boroughs hinges on its characters' ages, which is played into as much as possible, albeit without ever feeling forced. All things considered, the Stranger Things comparisons are apt, but they don't necessarily go much deeper than surface level as far as the story being told is concerned.

What Separates Netflix's The Boroughs from Other Science-Fantasy Streaming Shows

There aren't many places where The Boroughs falters, nor are there any obvious gaps in its winding, overarching narrative. And, where audiences might initially assume that things are taking an unnatural turn in terms of trajectory, there is always someone, or something, to remind them that the most mundane aspects of The Boroughs are often the most devastating.

Like so many other sci-fi stories before it, The Boroughs sees its core cast of characters looking for anyone who might listen to them in their moment of need, only to be met with utter disbelief. This isn't just because of the ludicrous nature of what they are going through, however, but also because of the apparent ravages of time and the many traumas they have experienced.

Unlike other sci-fi stories, however, The Boroughs is keen enough to ensure that no one who truly knows these characters doubts them for long, at least not entirely. No matter how bad things get or where the narrative needs to go, every character involved maintains their relative autonomy. While this isn't always for the better for the situation they are collectively in, it is absolutely a testament to the storytellers and creatives behind The Boroughs.

Where The Boroughs Pushes the Envelope In Terms of Storytelling

This is easily the biggest strength that The Boroughs has as a series. Every lapse in judgment isn't necessitated by its closest plotline, but rather is brought about by the very human emotions being grappled with under very superhuman circumstances.

Throughout the entirety of the series' first season, The Boroughs sees just one character lose their life in service of the plot, and it completely avoids throwing any others under the bus along the way. There are times when the pacing isn't perfect, or when individual story threads become muddled, yet there never comes a time when the audience finds themselves questioning what just happened or struggling to follow along.

Even when The Boroughs is at its absolute most cryptic, there are clear signs as to what general direction it is moving. This helps maintain the tone of the series in a way that is often purposefully avoided in shows with such sprawling, intentionally drawn-out mysteries at their heart.

The Future (Hopefully) Looks Bright for The Boroughs on Netflix

By the time The Boroughs Season One is concluded, it is perfectly clear that there are definitive plans in store for the series' future. There are still a plethora of questions to be answered, as is expected, but there aren't any obvious holes that those answers will have to fill in so that the rest of the story can stay afloat.

As of the time of writing, The Boroughs still hasn't been renewed for a second season at Netflix, though that will presumably change soon enough. Between the overwhelmingly positive response that the series has received, the massive viewership numbers it has drawn, and the clear plan that the creators have in store for it, fans should be able to look forward to returning to The Boroughs before they start lining up for their own retirement.

The Boroughs is currently available for streaming on Netflix.