Netflix’s The Boroughs is redefining the sci-fi genre with a thrilling adventure centered on senior citizens who refuse to slow down. Created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, who also serve as executive producers and co-showrunners, the eight-episode series teams them up with executive producers Matt and Ross Duffer of Stranger Things fame to tell a mysterious and emotional story set in a seemingly idyllic retirement community in the New Mexico desert.
At the center of the story is retired engineer Sam Cooper, played by Alfred Molina, a grieving widower who reluctantly moves to the picturesque community at the urging of his daughter, Claire, portrayed by Jena Malone. Though the retirement haven promises its residents the perfect place to enjoy their golden years, Sam soon discovers something sinister lurking beneath the manicured cul-de-sacs and serene backdrop.
The Duffer brothers, longtime admirers of Addiss and Matthews’ work on The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, were eager to collaborate on a project inspired in part by the beloved 1985 film Cocoon. The Boroughs also marks the first project developed under the Duffers’ Upside Down Pictures banner.
Like Stranger Things, The Boroughs follows a ragtag group of unlikely heroes facing terrifying supernatural forces. However, while Stranger Things explores coming-of-age themes, The Boroughs examines aging, grief, friendship, and purpose later in life.
Sam initially wants nothing to do with his new neighbors after losing his wife, but he ends up bonding with fellow residents Renee (Geena Davis), Judy (Alfre Woodard), Art (Clarke Peters), Wally (Denis O’Hare), Jack (Bill Pullman), and Edward (Ed Begley Jr.). Together, the group uncovers dark secrets threatening everyone in the isolated desert community.
The retirement enclave is overseen by CEO Blaine (Seth Numrich) and his wife, Anneliese (Alice Kremelberg), both of whom appear to be hiding dangerous truths.
Addiss and Matthews intentionally chose Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the backdrop for the story, embracing both the beauty and the isolation of the desert setting while crafting aging characters rarely seen leading genre television series.
“The reality is that we’re aging differently. We’re living longer. And I think that our relationship with aging and the way that we have shown aging has been a little old on TV. And so maybe we’re just all catching up to the reality of people having adventures later and longer, and still figuring it out, even as you get older,” Addiss explained.
The Boroughs joins a growing list of acclaimed television series focused on older adults, a demographic that has not always been afforded the dignity of leading a series, including The Kominsky Method, Grace and Frankie, A Man On The Inside, and Dead To Me, which had an entire storyline dedicated to a senior living facility. These successful shows have demonstrated the audience’s appetite for stories that center around senior characters navigating love, friendship, loss, and reinvention.
Matthews noted that many veteran actors are among Hollywood’s finest talents. “There’s so much talent in that age group. When you’re thinking up a show, you’ve got to think of characters, and the actors who are going to play them. And you want to get the best actors in the world, and there’s such a target-rich environment with that age group that’s being underserved, I think, with lead characters, anyway.”
Premiering on May 21, The Boroughs blends science fiction, horror, and dark comedy as strange creatures begin stalking the neighborhood at night. As residents mysteriously die, the elderly community members are initially dismissed as confused or delusional. But the retirees soon unite to uncover the truth and save their home from an otherworldly threat.
One especially compelling storyline involves residents living in the memory care unit known as The Manor. Addiss and Matthews wanted to portray these characters with dignity and agency rather than reducing them to stereotypes.
“It was really important to us that The Manor be a place where these characters live, that if you have dementia or you have memory problems, it’s a good place for you to be,” stated Addiss. “I don’t want to get into spoilers, but they get to be heroes themselves and get to have some adventure and have some excitement.”
The creators researched real-life retirement and memory care communities, including The Villages in Florida and a Sun City community in Arizona. “We wanted to make The Boroughs its own unique bubble in the middle of the desert, in the middle of nowhere, because if you go two feet beyond your backyard, you’re in the desert, which is beautiful, but also dangerous,” warned Matthews.
“We like that metaphor of this little contained place, because bubbles are beautiful, and they’re also fragile,” he added. “We worked with the design team in Albuquerque to really build a whole new place that didn’t exist.”
Addiss summed up the series’ genre-bending tone in simple terms. “We always say it’s an adventure, because an adventure can be scary, and it can have monsters, and it can have laughs, and it can be emotional.”
The creators were determined to portray their senior characters as courageous protagonists rather than comic relief. “We really think of these characters as heroes. We never wanted any of them to be the butt of the joke,” Addiss concluded. “We wanted everybody who comes to The Boroughs to feel like a hero.”
Ultimately, The Boroughs delivers more than a supernatural thrill and sci-fi mystery. The Netflix series explores resilience and the importance of embracing every stage of life. While death looms throughout the story, the heart of this show lies in its reminder that life remains full of adventure and connection at any age.
