The Duffer Brothers have a strange thing for rural paranormal towns, from 1980s Hawkins, Indiana, to now, the New Mexico desert.
The Stranger Things creators are executive producers of a new supernatural series for Netflix called The Boroughs. Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) are the creators and showrunners of the eight-episode drama — which is available to stream now.
“From the beginning, we knew we wanted The Boroughs to feel equal parts scary, mysterious, exciting and emotional,” Addiss and Matthews tell Tudum. “The challenge was to create a world that could hold all of these different tones at once. Which is why it was so fun to work with the Duffer Brothers — the masters of balancing heart and horror.”
The Duffer Brothers note, “While the heroes in The Boroughs have a few more years on them than the kids from Stranger Things, they are a similarly lovable bunch of misfits, and we can’t wait for you to join them on an adventure that is at turns scary, funny, and deeply touching.”
Get a taste of Addiss and Matthews’ curious new world in the preview above. And keep reading for everything you need to know about the upcoming series.
In a seemingly perfect retirement community, a grieving newcomer’s monstrous encounter inspires him to join a misfit crew of unlikely heroes who uncover a dark secret that proves their “golden years” are more dangerous, and they are more formidable, than anyone expects.
Yes, it does! Featuring music from Bruce Springsteen, Bill Withers, and many more, The Boroughs (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) will be available to stream starting May 21 (the CD and vinyl versions will be released June 19, but are available to pre-order now.) Two-time Grammy nominee and Emmy winner Nora Felder, who worked on Stranger Things, oversaw music supervision for The Boroughs.
The Boroughs (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) features classic tracks from Bruce Springsteen, Santana, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Heart, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bill Withers, and more. See below for the full track lists.
Side A
1. “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen
2. “Lose Your Soul” by Dead Man’s Bones
3. “Oye Como Va” by Santana
4. “Do You Believe in Magic” by The Lovin' Spoonful
5. “Night Moves” by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Side B
1. “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers
2. “The Passenger” by Siouxsie and the Banshees
3. “Smiling Faces Sometimes” by The Undisputed Truth
4. “Barracuda” by Heart
5. “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen
1. “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen
2. “Oye Como Va” by Santana
3. “Shining Star” by Earth, Wind & Fire
4. “Night Moves” by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
5. “Stormy Weather” by Etta James
6. “The Ex Factor” by Lauryn Hill
7. “Back on You” by Djo
8. “You’ve Got a Killer Scene There, Man…” by Queens of the Stone Age
9. “Lose Your Soul” by Dead Man’s Bones
10. “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers
11. “I Can’t Stand the Rain” by Tina Turner
12. “The Passenger” by Siouxsie and the Banshees
13. “Belshazzar” by Johnny Cash
14. “Love Train” by The O'Jays
15. “Smiling Faces Sometimes” by The Undisputed Truth
16. “Cheek to Cheek” by Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman and His Orchestra
17. “Barracuda” by Heart
18. “More Today than Yesterday” by Spiral Starecase
19. “Do You Believe in Magic” by The Lovin’ Spoonful
20. “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen
The series was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the show is set. You can credit production designer Ruth Ammon (Station Eleven, Pachinko) and her team for bringing the world of the fictional retirement community to life.
“We built eight houses on a back lot,” says Addiss. “When you see Sam’s cul-de-sac, we built that. When you go downtown and see The Boroughs and all those shops, we built that. You could go into those shops and turn on those coffee machines, and they would work. What this production did and what our production designer, Ruth Ammon, did is a feat. It is beautiful, and everything in The Boroughs is thought through.”
Matthews adds, “The detail that goes into the design and the physical execution — these people are impressive. And so as writers, you write a line because it sounds right, it feels right, but you don’t really think about who’s going to build The Manor. And then Ruth shows up and says, ‘I got an idea.’”
According to creators and showrunners Addiss and Matthews, making The Boroughs alongside the Duffer Brothers has been a “dream come true.”
“They bring the perfect balance of heart and horror to our story. We can’t wait for audiences around the world to unlock the dark mystery buried beneath the sunny facade of The Boroughs,” they said.
The Duffer Brothers are equally excited by their collaboration: “We’ve been fans of Jeff and Will’s writing for a long time, and when they pitched us their idea for The Boroughs, we immediately knew they had something very special on their hands,” they said.
Hilary Leavitt will also join as executive producer under the Duffers’ Upside Down Pictures production banner. Ben Taylor (Sex Education, Catastrophe) will executive produce and will direct the first two episodes.
Check out the above video for a sneak peek at what’s in store before The Boroughs invites you in this spring.
All eight episodes are available to stream now.
Keep coming back to Tudum for more updates. And head here to learn more about the Duffer Brothers’ upcoming projects.
