TV Show review
March 26, 2026 · TV-MA · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.
Woke representation / casting
Visible Latina actress in central competent protagonist role (psych grad student, main POV) and Black actress in key supporting family role. Affluent white family setting limits broader emphasis. Not marketed or framed as identity priority or quota. No mismatch with story logic.
Woke political dialogue
No explicit activist, DEI-style, or identity-politics dialogue reported. Occasional relationship tension framed through female experience.
Identity-driven story themes
Noticeable "female horror" emphasis on women's marriage anxieties, self-sacrifice, not being believed by male partner, soulmate pressures. Creator explicitly links to feminist theory and personal lived experience. Brief confirmed queer element present. Not dominant modern systemic critique of patriarchy, whiteness, or capitalism; remains personal/psychological horror with gender lens.
Review
Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is an 8-episode Netflix horror miniseries created by Haley Z. Boston and executive produced by the Duffer Brothers. It follows a bride whose escalating dread at her remote family cabin wedding reveals a supernatural curse tied to soulmates and belief. The story uses a female horror lens to explore marriage anxieties, not being believed by male partners, and choosing self over self-sacrifice, with a brief sapphic encounter between the bride and a supporting character. Creator interviews tie the project to feminist horror theory and personal relationship fears.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Mild framing of traditional marriage/soulmate ideals and family expectations as potentially harmful illusions. Not activist portrayal of toxic masculinity, anti-conservative social norms, or institutional patriarchy. Universal relationship dread horror.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Original story with no established canon, source material, or historical figures altered for identity reasons.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Limited minor online grumbling treating the feminist framing or brief queer element as "forced" or agenda-driven. Not widespread, explosive, or dominant discourse. Most complaints focus on pacing and payoff. Evidence is thin and fringe relative to quality debates.
Creator track record context
Haley Z. Boston (queer self-identification, repeated emphasis on feminist horror theory, infiltrating "boy’s club," women-driven perspectives). Kate Trefry (pitched major lesbian character in Stranger Things). Lisa Brühlmann (career in feminist body-horror centered on female autonomy and sexuality). Axelle Carolyn (cached 47, feminist trauma themes). Pattern of gender/relationship-focused horror with queer elements. Not full DEI or representation-first ideology machine.
Production
