Loved ‘The Boroughs’? These spooky sci-fi shows are next
Loved ‘The Boroughs’? These spooky sci-fi shows are next
From Hawkins to ‘Widow’s Bay,’ these shows scratch the same mystery-box itch.
“The Boroughs” is my favorite show on TV right now, right behind “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.” Tara and I LOVE this thing because it’s exactly the tone we dig: spooky but not too scary, funny, grounded in a great mystery, and heartfelt without getting sickly sweet. The hook got me right away — a retirement community in New Mexico has to fight off an alien threat that’s stealing the most important thing they have. But it’s the performances, especially Alfred Molina, and the chemistry of the cast that keep us watching. And with only eight episodes, it’s over way too soon! So, if you’re already missing the weird, warm, mystery-box energy of “The Boroughs,” these are the four spooky sci-fi shows I’d watch next.
The Boroughs
In a seemingly perfect retirement community, a crew of unlikely heroes must stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don’t have: time.
Loved ‘The Boroughs’? Watch: ‘Stranger Things’
This is the obvious first stop because “Stranger Things” has so much of the same DNA as “The Boroughs” — starting with the Duffer Brothers connection. The Duffers created “Stranger Things” and executive produce “The Boroughs,” so the shared love of small-town mystery, unlikely heroes, creepy creatures, and classic sci-fi adventure is baked right in. “Stranger Things” kicks off in Hawkins, Indiana, when a kid named Will disappears, and his friends start chasing a mystery that leads to a secret government lab, a girl with psychic powers, and a nightmare dimension called the Upside Down. It’s kids on bikes, monsters in the dark, shady experiments, and adults slowly realizing something very wrong is happening in their town.
The big connection is that both shows are about regular people becoming heroes because something impossible shows up in their backyard. “Stranger Things” has kids and teens fighting monsters, while “The Boroughs” gives that same kind of adventure to retirees, which is part of why it feels so fresh. “Stranger Things” is more ‘80s nostalgia, bigger monster mythology, and a long-running Netflix phenomenon, while “The Boroughs” is warmer, more contained, and built around aging, friendship, and lost time. But if you loved the mix of heart, humor, spooky sci-fi, and a group of underdogs trying to save their community, this is basically required viewing.
Stranger Things
When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one strange little girl.
Check out: ‘Outer Range’
“Outer Range” is a much moodier version of the “small place, giant cosmic problem” vibe. Josh Brolin plays Royal Abbott, a Wyoming rancher trying to hold his family together when he discovers a strange black void sitting on his land. From there, the show turns into this eerie sci-fi Western full of family secrets, rival ranchers, grief, time weirdness, and people staring into the unknown and wondering what it all means.
Both shows take a very grounded community and crack it open with something completely impossible. In “The Boroughs,” it’s an alien threat hiding inside a retirement village. In “Outer Range,” it’s a reality-bending mystery sitting in the middle of a pasture. But there is a real difference in tone. “The Boroughs” is more playful, more charming, and more ensemble-driven, while “Outer Range” is slower, stranger, and way more brooding. But if the mystery is what hooked you, and you like watching regular people try to make sense of something huge and unknowable, this one scratches that itch.
Outer Range
A rancher fighting for his land and family stumbles upon an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness, forcing a confrontation with the Unknown in ways both intimate and cosmic in the untamable American West.
Watch next: ‘Night Sky’
“Night Sky” is the quieter, more emotional pick on this list. Sissy Spacek and J.K. Simmons play Irene and Franklin York, an older married couple who seem to be living a quiet life in Illinois. Except they’ve got a secret chamber buried in their backyard that leads to a deserted alien planet. Their private little window into the cosmos gets disrupted when a mysterious young man shows up and pulls them into something much bigger.
This one connects to “The Boroughs” because it also puts older characters at the center of a sci-fi mystery, which still feels way too rare. But where “The Boroughs” is more of a spooky adventure about a group of retirees fighting back, “Night Sky” is more tender and meditative. It’s about marriage, grief, time, and the wonder of realizing the universe is bigger than you thought, even late in life. So if what you loved most about “The Boroughs” was watching older people get a real genre story with real emotional weight, “Night Sky” is a really lovely next stop.
Night Sky
Irene and Franklin York, a retired couple, have a secret: a Chamber buried in their backyard that miraculously leads to a strange, deserted planet. When an enigmatic young man arrives, the Yorks’ quiet existence is upended and the mysterious Chamber they thought they knew so well turns out to be much more than they could have ever imagined.
Wildcard pick: ‘Widow’s Bay’
“Widow’s Bay” is the wildcard because it swaps desert retirement-community sci-fi for foggy island-town chaos, but the vibe still lines up. Matthew Rhys plays Tom Loftis, the mayor of a small New England island town who wants to turn Widow’s Bay into a tourist destination. Great plan, except the locals keep warning him the place is haunted and cursed. Then the weird stuff starts showing up: sea-hag legends, killer clowns, old folklore, strange creatures in the fog… and Loftis can only explain away so much of it.
The reason it fits after “The Boroughs” is the tone. Both shows are spooky, funny, and built around a community that’s hiding way more than you know. “The Boroughs” has aliens, aging, and a retirement village full of unlikely heroes. “Widow’s Bay” has island folklore, dark comedy, and residents acting like all this cursed nonsense is just part of local life. It’s more absurd, more horror-comedy, and more coastal-weird than “The Boroughs,” but if you loved that mix of mystery, jokes, danger, and neighbors trying to figure out what the hell is going on, this is the fun swing.
Widow’s Bay
The mayor of a New England town resolves to turn it into the next tourist hot spot, despite local warnings that it’s cursed.
More to watch after finishing ‘The Boroughs’:
‘Paradise’ | Hulu
Paradise
The tranquility in a serene, wealthy community inhabited by some of the world’s most prominent individuals explodes when a shocking murder occurs and a high stakes investigation unfolds.
‘Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen’ | Netflix
Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen
A bride has a feeling that something horrifying will happen at her wedding — and the closer to the altar she gets, the worse it becomes.
‘3 Body Problem’ | Netflix
3 Body Problem
Across continents and decades, five brilliant friends make earth-shattering discoveries as the laws of science unravel and an existential threat emerges.
‘Locke & Key’ | Netflix
Locke & Key
After their dad’s murder, three siblings move with their mom to his ancestral estate, where they discover magical keys that unlock powers — and secrets.