Teacup is a spooky new series that’s definitely worth checking out

It’s a good time to be a horror series fan, especially if you like the subgenre the series likes OUT OF or Peacock’s new show Teacup fit in. This is not horror in the sense of American horror story or slasher films, but rather the “mysterious threat that traps people in a supernatural survival scenario” – as much science fiction as horror.

That’s more my thing – pun not intended – although I also have a penchant for psychological horror. Teacup There are only two fairly short episodes available at the moment, so I’m not entirely sure how the rest of the season will pan out, but for now it reminds me a lot of the episode that just aired OUT OF on MGM+, although not quite as good or quite as scary – at least not yet. Mild spoilers ahead.

The story is set in a rural community where a veterinarian, Maggie Chenoweth, is played The maid‘s story‘s Yvonne Strahovski – lives with her family and a number of animals. Her relationship with her husband James (Scott Speedman) is strained. They have two children, Arlo (Caleb Dolden) and Meryl (Emilie Bierre). When neighbors show up with a horse in distress, things take a strange turn.

Arlo has disappeared when Ruben Shanley (Chaske Spencer) and his wife Valeria (Diany Rodriguez) show up, along with their teenage son Nicholas (Luciano Leroux). While Maggie tends to her horse’s self-inflicted wounds, the others go looking for the boy. It’s dark and the animals were acting strangely. A goat also ran away, as did a neighbor’s dog. Since we, the audience, were privy to the series’ opening film, in which a middle-aged woman covered in blood wanders through the woods muttering incoherently to herself, we already know that everything going on is bad. As the night goes on, the characters in the series realize how bad things really are, and it just keeps getting worse.

After two episodes, I’m definitely excited to see where this goes, especially after a mysterious stranger shows up with even more horrific implications. There are still many questions to be answered: Why don’t the cars start? What happened to the internet and phone lines? Is this a natural disaster or is there something more supernatural at play? What made that woman in the woods behave like this, and what happens to Arlo now that he tells his mother that they need to hide first? It comes here? Who is this masked stranger and why does he go around with a paint sprayer, protecting houses the way a wizard would surround a magic rune with a circle of salt?

Then again, I’m not sold yet. Sometimes Teacup feels a little. . . cheap? Maybe a little “network TV show.” There’s nothing really wrong with the writing or production, but it does have a slightly generic feel to it that either develops into something truly creepy and compelling or becomes something forgettable. It’s too early to say that. I’m also fully aware that I need to focus on Yvonne Strahovski as the leading lady after spending so much time with her The Handmaid’s Tale as the despicable Serena Joy. Maggie is a good person; Serena was a monster.

I’m not quite there yet, that’s the point, as I was after the first episode of OUT OF, but I’m hopeful and thinking Teacup has potential. I was entertained, and sometimes that’s all I need from a show like this. I started too sweet pea on Paramount+ and found the series premiere captivating and its lead actress Ella Purnell absolutely gorgeous. For more show and movie recommendations, check out my latest weekend streaming guide.