Hysteria!

I stumbled upon this show by accident while browsing through a catalog of new releases and decided to start the first episode purely based on the poster. I thought, "Maybe it'll be something like Stranger Things or the Fear Street trilogy," but it turned out to be completely different. It's been quite some time since I've felt this kind of excitement-similar to when I watched The Haunting of Hill House.

This show isn't overly serious, but it's not a comedy either. I really enjoyed it overall, though I felt the ending was a bit lacking. I was expecting something different, and it ended up feeling a little cliché. That said, I still recommend giving it a watch!

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.

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.

As a super fan of heavy metal and fan of horror flicks and the supernatural this one was a no brainer for me. I think I enjoyed the aesthetic and soundtrack a bit more than the story it was trying to tell though and that's fine. The soundtrack alone gets a 9.5. The cast was solid enough to keep me entertained throughout for the most part. Bruce Campbell is always a welcomed delight in supernatural stuff like this and even though he was more of a background character in this he was still pretty cool as usual. It has potential in the writing and if it gets a season 2 I hope they expand a bit more on just the typical exorcising demons motif that has kinda been there, done that time and time again. It did start off strong though with the whole era of the late 80s in middle America still fearing heavy metal music and thinking everyone who listens to it and/or is in a metal band automatically is associated with giving Satan a handy or some crap. The way the season ended softly sets up a season two but it felt kind of forced in a sense. It could have ended a little better and honestly this could very well have been a one and done limited series and I think it would have fared just fine if not better than the hopes of season after season. Don't get me wrong though would I want to see more classic heavy metal tracks be well timely executed given the situations going on within each episode? Hell yeah. But I also realize that not everything is meant to go on for too long without running out of steam or losing it's luster. I don't want that to happen with this show. I hope they neatly wrap up it's story in 3 seasons or less. Less is more sometimes folks and I feel that concept would be well applied with this show as you leave them wanting more in a sense.

Hysteria! Was a really pleasant surprise. Visually it shares a lot with Stranger Things, but on the other hand it has similar elements to Midnight Mass. At the same time it's easy series to watch. All in all the show is a mixture of murder mystery, coming of age story, horror... Again, Stanger Things anyone?

What separates Hysteria from other shows is how it handles the comedy-side of the story. Show doesn't take itself too seriously, but at the same time it avoids most pitfalls. TV mystery on satanic panic could easily be either a serious detective drama or slapstick comedy of goofy metal band. Hysteria! Is able to bake something else from premise, which feels both familiar and fresh.

Additionally, I really like the way how it handles references to pop culture and how the chemistry between actors works.

It's really hard to make anything really satisfying by mixing lots of genres and reusing already well known recipe of "Stranger Things". I would have expected a mediocre show, but had such a thrilling time binging this one. Keeping fingers crossed for upcoming seasons! Thus giving it a solid 8, but if you are really into nostalgia and love teen drama with mystery and horror, it's easy to give even an extra point.