From the new Netflix show's opening scene, The Boroughs offers both visual and narrative intrigue as Dee Wallace's character Grace plays along to Jeopardy while indulging in her dinner. She then gets a call from her husband Edward, who's asking to come home. It's clear he's unwell mentally as doctors calm him down, and the call itself was ominous in that he spoke for a moment in code.
Both sci-fi and horror elements come into play thereafter as Grace is attacked by a monster, and the show transitions to the intro of its compelling primary character: Sam Cooper, a retired engineer played by Alfred Molina who recently became a widower. He's moving into the titular retirement community, specifically into Grace's former home.
He quickly meets such characters as Jack and Renee, his eccentric neighbors who are played by Bill Pullman and Geena Davis, respectively. There's also Clarke Peters and Alfre Woodard as a married couple named Art and Judy Daniels, along with the aforementioned Edward, as he's escaped from a place called The Manor, where residents of The Boroughs are sent if they're in need of particular attention.
Just as unwell as he was in the beginning, Edward is madly repeating the same phrase he was earlier saying to Grace about an owl being in a wall. He then attacks Sam by stabbing him in the arm, this sequence going down as the episode's midpoint twist.
With a close adherence to story structure, wonderful transitions, witty lines of dialogue, and well-rounded performances, The Boroughs shows tremendous potential with its inaugural episode. It was written by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, who are also credited as showrunners on the newest Netflix exclusive.
After meeting Blaine Shaw, the retirement community's CEO, protagonist Sam Cooper learns more about the backstory of Edward, how he and Grace lost their son Joey and how he now suffers from a rare neurological disease called Maxwell's.
Hoping to cancel his contract and leave the retirement community, Sam receives a set of papers from Shaw and returns back to his house. Throughout all these sequences, he has flashbacks and visions of his late wife Lily, who's portrayed by Jane Kaczmarek.
Everyone among the dedicated cast of The Boroughs seriously shows up to play in a captivating plot, none more so than Alfred Molina as protagonist Sam Cooper. He's a clearly fractured character, but he does seem to have a jovial relationship with his daughter Claire, who's played by Jena Malone.
Last worth noting from the cast is Denis O'Hare, who shows up in The Boroughs as a character known as Wally. He's a former doctor who's now suffering from stage-four prostate cancer, and he first meets the protagonist when Sam is preparing to approach Jack's backyard. There's a party that Sam put together so he could meet the neighbors, including characters familiar to the audience like Art, Judy, and Renee.
Nighttime rolls around with the characters sitting at a fire, and we get great insight into their respective dynamics. A pivotal moment occurs as Judy starts to choke, but she's quickly saved by Jack once he applies the Heimlich.
The scare sends Sam into a stupor, and he rushes off to his house. He's followed by Jack, and the two share a heartfelt moment that convinces Sam to stay in the retirement community. He goes to bed with a smile, but an unease envelops the episode's remaining minutes when Sam leaves his house and goes to check on Jack.
He hears an alarm chirping from Jack's house, and after breaking in to check on his friend, Sam is attacked by the monster from the episode's opening sequence. This is the show's inciting incident as the episode ends with the death of Jack and the reveal of a tangible conflict.
Perhaps the next big Netflix show, The Boroughs was produced by The Duffer Bros, who of course made names for themselves through their hit series Stranger Things (2016-2025). That's one of the hottest shows from all of the twenty-first century, and if episode one is any indication, The Boroughs will be just as good.
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