Netflix’s #1 Hit Horror Series Proves The Streamer Will Be Just Fine Without Mike Flanagan

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Willa Fitzgerald in The Fall of the House of Usher

Published Apr 21, 2026, 2:32 PM EDT

Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020.

While Netflix might have lost Mike Flanagan after a historically great run of original horror shows, the release of their latest hit show proves that the streaming service might have found a fitting replacement for the auteur. Mike Flanagan’s five-year run at Netflix is one that will be studied by fans of genre TV in years to come. Fresh off a string of hit horror movies including Oculus, Hush, and Ouija 2: Origin of Evil, Flanagan set the bar almost impossibly high with his first Netflix miniseries.

2018’s loose Shirley Jackson adaptation, The Haunting of Hill House, remains the best horror show of the 21st century, blending engaging, intimate character drama with genuinely gripping scares. 2020’s The Haunting of Bly Manor, 2021’s Midnight Mass, 2022’s The Midnight Club, and 2023’s unexpectedly funny, gory The Fall of the House of Usher cemented Flanagan’s status as the foremost voice in horror TV, and one of the genre’s most important contemporary creators more broadly.

As such, it was a monumental loss for Netflix when Flanagan moved to Prime Video for his next projects, the ambitious Stephen King adaptations Carrie and The Dark Tower. For a long while, it looked like Netflix would never be able to replace the acclaimed writer/ director, but March 2026’s hit psychological thriller Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen proves that the streamer has found another horror scribe with incredible potential.

Netflix's Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen Was A #1 Hit

Camila Morrone in Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen

Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen follows Camilla Morrone’s uncertain Rachel in the week leading up to her wedding at her fiancée Nicky’s isolated woodland cabin. Nicky’s entire family are in attendance, and it is Rachel’s first time meeting them, so the odds are good that she would always have been a nervous wreck. However, as the title implies, Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen hints at something much darker than a bad romantic match or awkward in-laws, ratcheting up the tension as it becomes clear that all is not as it seems in Nicky’s tight-knit clan.

While Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen’s genre switch shocked a lot of viewers, this didn’t stop the series from hitting number one on Netflix’s most-watched chart and maintaining this position for some time despite stiff competition. Like Flanagan’s Netflix shows, the series also managed to balance critical acclaim with its audience popularity, earning a whopping 87% from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes. What makes this even more impressive is Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen’s delicate tonal balance.

Haley Z. Boston Has Stepped Into Mike Flanagan's Shoes At Netflix

Gus Birney's Porschia from Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen

Writer Haley Z. Boston’s twisty story ensures that the show bounces between family drama, playful moments of comedic relief, and dark psychological horror without warning. However, instead of seeming tonally awkward, this risky approach pays off handsomely for the miniseries. Before Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen, Boston worked on the Netflix horror anthology Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities and the earlier miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor, both of which boasted similarly dark, unpredictable horror plots.

However, what makes Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen great is the show’s injection of genuine emotional stakes into its horror story. While there are plenty of jump scares and shocking twists, this dramatic horror cares about its characters and gives viewers time to get under their skin, an approach that calls to mind The Haunting of Hill House's patient, measured pacing. In the process, Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen proves that, even though Netflix might have lost out on further shows from Mike Flanagan, the streaming service has found a similarly talented replacement.