Check out the following scenario: A young couple wants to get married, and this wedding is to take place in a cabin deep that lies in dense, snow-covered forests, far away from civilization. That’s enough to set your spider sense tingling with a strong suspicion that it cannot end well, right? Okay, perhaps the title of the series, “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen,” is also a not-too-subtle hint.
After Stranger Things, Wedding Horror Beckons
What’s more important is the brain behind this series: As Matt and Ross Duffer’s first project after the conclusion of Stranger Things, their cult series, the eight-part miniseries Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, already marks something of a strategic move for Upside Down Pictures. Can the Duffer brothers also do adult horror, being so different from the cozy Hawkins of the eighties?
Yes, it’s about a wedding — and the bride’s million-dollar question: is he the one? Rachel Harkin, played by Camila Morrone (Daisy Jones & the Six) and Nicky Cunningham (Adam DiMarco, who we know from The White Lotus), travel to an isolated forest house five days before their wedding ceremony. Showrunner Haley Z. Boston (Brand New Cherry Flavor, Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities) stages nothing less than the horror version of walking down the aisle.
Directed by Weronika Tofilska (Reindeer Baby, Love Lies Bleeding), the narrative is carried by an ensemble cast including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ted Levine, Jeff Wilbusch, Karla Crome, Gus Birney, and Zlatko Burić. Filmed in Mississauga (Ontario), Netflix wants to place the work as a soundtrack highlight in the spring line-up. This is all you need to remember: it premieres on March 26, 2026!
The Shadow of Hawkins
Now that the curtain has closed on the epic Stranger Things finale, the entire geek world eagerly awaits the Duffer brothers’ next move. It remains to be seen whether the duo also has a knack for pop culture phenomena beyond Hawkins.
The series toys with an existential fear: what does it actually mean to be tied to a stranger for life? It actually began romantically: we are privy to the couple’s life for five days leading up to their wedding. We enter the Cunninghams’ luxurious, isolated family home. It soon becomes clear that the basic excitement before a wedding is not their biggest problem. As the couple immerse themselves in the snow-covered seclusion, obvious clues of madness lurk behind the façade of romance.
Conclusion: Between Paranoia and Pop Culture
The creative influences of the series reach deep into the history of classical genres: while Carrie deals with the horror of growing up and Rosemary’s Baby with the fears of motherhood, the step into marriage is staged as a paranoid nightmare. Fan response to the teaser has already caused quite a stir in the community. There is almost a hypnotic montage of desperate cries of “I’m sorry” heard all around. There is also a funny undertone to it, where much social media speculation on whether “I’m sorry” was supposed to be the Duffers’ apology for allegedly botching the Stranger Things finale.
The audience is eager to see what awaits on March 26 and is positive about the first teaser trailer. To be honest, yes, I’m hyped as well. Are you?
