How Netflix’s Dark Crystal Prequel Led To New Duffer Brothers Show The Boroughs
Created by Jeffrey Addiss Will Matthews, the duo behind The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, The Boroughs follows a group of senior citizens investigating a monstrous presence in their retirement community. Stranger Things' Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer serve as executive producers on the new Netflix series.
Imagine the Stranger Things kids in their twilight years, investigating a supernatural threat stalking their retirement community, and you've pretty much got the size of Netflix's The Boroughs.
Premiering in late May, the new series (executive produced by the Duffer brothers) hails from co-creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, whose success with The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance paved the way for their latest genre collaboration with streaming juggernaut.
While the small-screen prequel to Jim Henson's cult classic dark fantasy did not score a second season renewal, it was warmly embraced by fans and critics alike. That included '80s kids Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, who had just inked a first-look deal to create films and shows for Netflix.
Dark Crystal TV show led to new Duffer brothers series, The Boroughs
"They were like, 'Hey, we liked your puppet show!'" Matthews remembered during an interview for Empire's June 2026 issue. "'What else you got?'"
What they had was The Boroughs, which features an all-star cast of Alfred Molina (Sam), Geena Davis (Renee), Alfre Woodard (Judy), Denis O'Hare (Wally), Clarke Peters (Art) and Bill Pullman (Jack) as a band of pensioners on the trail of a malevolent presence stalking the titular retirement community in the middle of New Mexico.
"It's an adventure show," Addiss teased. "There's a mystery. It's not gory, but there are real scares and real danger, with a dangerous puzzle at its heart that these characters are going to unlock."
Comparisons to Stranger Things are already being made, with some even theorizing that The Boroughs is really a stealth sequel to Stranger Things, revisiting the Hawkins crew in their sunset years.
"One of the first questions people always ask in monster stories is, 'Why don't they just tell somebody? What don't you just call the cops?'" Matthews said. "So, you need characters who won't be believed, which leads you usually towards teenagers. But retirees are also overlooked, dismissed and not taken seriously."
The creators also drew on senior touchstones like The Golden Girls and Cocoon for inspiration. "But the Golden Girls were like, what, 55?" Matthews continued. "We wanted to ask, 'What's it like to be 70 and to be a hero?'"
Carlos Miranda (Paz), Jena Malone (Claire), Seth Numrich (Blaine), Alice Kremelberg (Anneliese), d Begley Jr. (Edward), Dee Wallace (Grace), Eric Edelstein (Hank), Rafael Casal (Neil), Mousa Hussein Kraish (Dr. McGinnis), Beth Bailey (Kayleigh), Karan Soni (Toby) and Jane Kaczmarek (Lilly) round out the cast.
In addition to creating and show-running, Matthews and Addis are executive producers with the Duffer brothers, Hilary Leavitt and Ben Taylor.
When does The Boroughs premiere?
The Boroughs premieres on Netflix Thursday, May 21.All 10 episodes of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance are now streaming on Netflix.
