Duffer Brothers' new Netflix horror show called "captivating" and "a blood-soaked, dread-filled nightmare" in first reviews, as it's compared to a Mike Flanagan series

It looks like the Duffer brothers have struck gold again, as just over three months after their hit sci-fi show Stranger Things came to an end, the duo's new project has hit Netflix to positive first reviews.

The Duffer-produced horror series, Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen, follows a young bride and groom in the week leading up to their disastrous wedding. The complete first season dropped onto the streamer in the early hours of March 26, 2026, and not long after, reactions from critics and audience started to roll in.

Digital Spy's Laura Jane Turner called the new body horror a "captivating," adding, "Despite some flaws and untapped potential to push its impressive themes a little further, it brings something fresh and original that's absolutely worth your time." Tom's Guide writer Rory Mellon goes as far as to liken the new series to Mike Flanagan's Haunting of Hill House, adding, "Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen appears to have come from the Alfred Hitchcock school of tension-building."

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Many critics seem to be loving the wedding setting, as A Shot Magazine writer Mai El Mokadem said, the nuptials "curdles into something far more sinister – a blood-soaked, dread-filled nightmare." The Guardian's Lucy Mangan said the show highlights the horrors of commitment, and poses the question, "Can you think of anything worse than being trapped by sacred ritual to the wrong person?"

However, not everyone is a fan, as Twitter user Pramitheus pointed out that the show's bad lighting had an effect on their watching experience, and HuffPost's Candice Frederick said "Something Very Bad is Going to Happen should have been a 90-minute movie, not a series with 8, nearly one-hour episodes." Time's Judy Berman also said that the show takes "way too long" for something bad to actually happen.

At the time of writing, the show does not yet have a Rotten Tomatoes score, but has so far scored 63 out of 100 on Metacritic based on just a handful of collected reviews.

Led by showrunner Haley Z. Boston, with the Matt and Ross Duffer serving as producers, Something Bad is Going to Happen stars Camila Morrone and Adam DiMarco as the newlyweds-to-be, alongside Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ted Levine, Gus Birney, Jeff Wilbusch, and Karla Crome.

Something Very Bad is Going to Happen is out on Netflix now. For more, check out our guide to the best shows on Netflix.