Hysteria!

Just like everything with the name Flannigan attached to it this was a few hours of good entertainment, a nice mystery at the core that got lifted just a little bit too early, high technical marks, and the kind of writing that does not waste my time, but also doesn't miss a beat. Not stellar, not genius, not a masterpiece, but even more important: Not trying to be any of that and not pretending to be more than that.

By just being solid this was one of my best TV experiences in 2024. Or, a little more poetic: In an endless stream of washed out franchises with refurbished content this was a gem washing ashore at the very end of the year and restored my faith in the medium, at least a little bit.

The cast was a pure delight, which I really did not expect from a long list of names that I had either never heard of or had not heard from in a long time. If you have a few hours to spare and like horror mysteries with an 80s twist I highly recommend this.

The good old Eighties, when some Christian conservatives attempted to stop kids from listening to wild heavy music supposedly associated with Satan and the likes. This series has playful fun with this basis, via a suburban town of Happy Hollow, where the residents and their teenagers get caught up in some strange going-ons, led by a high school heavy metal band and its wild antics - with the demonic Satan along for the ride.

Bruce Campbell as the chief of police is a bonus and an absolute hoot, as is Julie Bowen, a concerned mother who is flung around by an entity, and even gets to have visions of the evil creature with the horns. Emjay Anthony Is perfect as the son, Dylan, going to great lengths to get that girl, even if it means starting your own satanic cult!

There is plenty going on in this series; school bullying, doing anything to get attention, peer pressure, craving acceptance, and all things associated with teenage angst. Most of all it's about the hysteria parents create to deal with the situation.

This show captured 1989, the satanic panic, and the style of all those old supernatural horror films to the 'T'. I suspect that when the network saw it, they had them edit out a few minor shots that might give away what was a possible ending, so they could do a second season. At least I hope so. But having lived through that period, I can say they did it very well.

While not a comedy, it did keep me laughing at all the nods to other films of that genre, which in way reminded me of Stranger Things, but they limited jump scares, nudity blood, and ultra violence, and still made a good show. My hat is off to the producers and directors and writers.

PS the cast is all good, and this is Brice Campbell's 2nd best role after Bubba Ho Tep.

I'm only on episode 3 but I have to take a second to say how Bruce Campbell is absolutely killing it in this show. I'm used to him being kind of over the top acting (not because he over acts, but because that's what the role called for) like Evil Dead but in this he really really really is doing a great job of like playing a sheriff. It's coming off like very genuine the way he's acting his. You know his hand movements and not just the words that he's saying but all of it just seems very very genuine. At this point I'm just trying to get to my 200 word mark because I'm not done watching the show.

I went in to this completely blind, and my first impressions was that it was going to be a dark comedy and satire from the 1980's satanic panic. It turned out to be a teen drama best suited for the likes of MTV. Once again, it's another 80s throwback where most of the cast look like they're out of 2024 cosplaying 80s characters and getting it all wrong. The story lines are all over the place but they do come together for the most part. I binged watched this in one day and it very well much could have been a 2 hr movie. The not so subtle ending really ruined what could have been an amazing wrap up. I can't really recommend the show, but it wasn't bad. It's definitely a one and done with no rewatchability. They really missed the mark on just how funny the satanic panic was in the 80s when we all knew it was bs.