Don't watch "Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen" if you're about to get married The new horror/supernatural series produced by the creators of "Stranger Things"

The era of Stranger Things has come to an end, but the dynasty of the Duffer brothers continues. The creators of Netflix’s most beloved show return to the platform as producers before their next project as creators lands on the streamer, focusing in 2026 on two behind-the-scenes works, with the first arriving on March 26.

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is a horror/supernatural miniseries born from the mind of Haley Z. Boston, who previously worked in 2021 on another miniseries also rooted in horror and the supernatural genre. For Brand New Cherry Flavor, created by Nick Antosca and Lenore Zion, Boston worked as a screenwriter, and many of that series’ influences carry over into her eight-episode show about a couple about to get married, soon haunted by a curse. These suggestions shape not only the narrative progression but, above all, the aesthetic of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen and, much like in Brand New Cherry Flavor, reveal a series that pours in all the best intentions yet ultimately becomes trapped by them.

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen: plot and cast

The story revolves around Rachel, played by Camilla Morrone from Daisy Jones & The Six, who travels to the childhood home of her future husband Nicky, Adam DiMarco from Overcompensating and The White Lotus, where a stressful week leading up to their wedding awaits them. But, as the title suggests, something very bad is about to strike the perhaps-not-so-happy couple, with Rachel forced to understand whether Nicky is truly her soulmate. A confirmation on which nothing less than her life depends.

Just like in Brand New Cherry Flavor, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen relies more on premonitions than on storytelling, on sensations rather than narrative anchors. For a horror project, where mystery and unease prevail over plot, this is understandable. The issue arises when these evocative elements exist more as isolated moments, placed to shock (without succeeding) rather than to engage the viewer. This is especially evident in the first two episodes, which are later given explanations for the ominous signs haunting the protagonist, who, halfway through the season, must face a fate even more dire than she could have imagined.

What doesn’t work?

In one of the many reinterpretations of the Platonic myth, in Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen as well, the soulmate becomes the only real solution to live a complete life and, taken to the extreme, the only real solution to live at all. For a series, however, “living” should not mean relying on a bit of blood from the eyes or the promise of a man lurking in the dark to create fear. Especially when it fails to decide which tool to use, whether the manipulation of images and their suggestive power or the solidity of writing. Both are weak elements in Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, with a wobbly script that creaks and expects the audience to accept too much of what the show offers. An audience aware of the type of story it is watching, yet still able to notice the endless coincidences and contrivances that strain the writing far more than usually (and rightly) happens in a supernatural and/or horror product.

So, while for Rachel the question revolves around whether to believe that Nicky is her soulmate, for viewers it becomes a matter of deciding whether they are willing to accept the narrative conveniences, the coincidences, and the misfortunes the characters encounter, as well as its grey, dark, overly dark presentation. It’s like the kind of story told to scare you as a child, it’s up to you to decide whether it’s real or just a fantasy. Which, in the case of the series, means choosing whether to attend the fateful wedding staged on Netflix or, instead, decline the invitation.