If any Emmy voters are looking to award The Boroughs, the star-studded sci-fi series from the Duffer brothers, they better do so now.
Because there won’t be another chance.
Netflix canceled the series, which stars Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters, Denis O’Hare, and Geena Davis, after just one season on the streamer. The series was launched as an aged-up Stranger Things and touting that mega-hit’s creators, the Matt and Ross Duffer, as executive producers.
Despite consistent placement in Netflix’s Top 10 and a full Emmy campaign — complete with panels and an official submission announcement — The Boroughs will not be continuing into a Season 2. And while the news may some as a shock to those paying attention to the FYC space or the streamer’s charts, the writing may have been on the wall (and lit by strings of Christmas lights).
News of The Boroughs‘s cancellation came just two days after Paramount announced a November 2028 release date for their “event film” written and directed by the Duffers. The duo left behind a deal at Netflix last summer, just before the final season of Stranger Things began, to refocus their careers on features — theatrically presented ones, specifically.
Netflix is not entirely out of the Duffer Business, however. Still coming from the duo is Season 2 of the animated series based on their hit, Stranger Things: Tales From ’85.
The end of The Boroughs will, no doubt, come as a disappointment to creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, who spoke with Gold Derby just a week ago about having a map in place for the series beyond Season 1. “We know how it ends, because we know how it all ties up,” Addiss said. “But if we don’t get a second season, we feel like we left the characters in a really good place.”
