New Stephen King-Approved Show Is Terrific To Watch After Netflixs Canceled 87% Horror From 2 Years Ago

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Teacup

Viewers disappointed by Netflix's cancelation of a 2-year-old highly acclaimed horror show must watch a new Stephen King-approved series. Although Netflix is known for having a massive catalog of acclaimed horror shows, many that have landed on the streaming platform have never been able to reach their natural conclusion. One of these horror shows, adapted from a podcast, premiered on the streaming giant in the first month of 2022.

With James Wan as one of its executive producers, the series performed incredibly well among critics and still boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of 87%. However, despite garnering critical acclaim and ending its first season's run on an ambiguous note, the Netflix show was abruptly canceled. Many viewers even complained about Netflix's decision to pull the plug on the series, but nothing changed the outcome. Fortunately, two years after the show's release, another similar series is now available for streaming.

Teacup & Archive 81 Are Both Acclaimed Horror Shows Produced By James Wan

Before Teacup, Archive 81 Was The Last Horror Show Wan Produced

Created by Ian McCulloch, Peacock's new horror show Teacup is loosely based on the novel Stinger by Robert R. McCammon. James Wan serves as its executive producer, and the show has a decent Rotten Tomatoes score of 79%. Stephen King, too, recently gave the series his stamp of approval by calling it “strange, creepy, claustrophobic, and scary.” The King of Horror even compared it with other renowned shows like Lost and From, claiming viewers who loved the two series would enjoy Teacup. Here is his full review for the Peacock series:

While Stephen King compared the show with From and Lost, it is hard not to notice how Teacup shares many similarities with Netflix's Archive 81. Based on a podcast series of the same name, Archive 81 also had James Wan as one of its executive producers. Like Teacup, it was also a critical success. Two of its episodes were also helmed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who have garnered immense praise for their indie horror films and recent work in several MCU projects. Unfortunately, despite showing immense potential, Archive 81 was canceled by Netflix after season 1.

Why Netflix Canceled Archive 81 After Only 1 Season

The Show Did Not Fulfill Netflix's Expectations

According to reports (via Small Screen), Archive 81 was initially on the verge of being renewed. An anonymous source revealed that the show's creators were also a few days away from going into pre-production and even its scripts were being worked on. However, things took a 360 when it came down to Archive 81 season 2's budget. After considering the show's overall views after season 1, Netflix's executives did not feel it brought in enough new viewers.

Netflixs Next Haunting Of Hill House Sequel Should Copy Archive 81

10 Best Shows Like Archive 81

Archive 81 is a sci-fi mystery that’s left fans eager for more, and it’s not the first show of its kind to do so. Heres a great few just like it.

The source also said that for a show made on a relatively tight budget, Archive 81 did well on Netflix. However, despite its decent overall views and positive critical reception, it did not fall into Netflix's desired metrics for renewal. Although the source did not delve into the details of the metrics, they revealed Netflix has arbitrary "cut-off points" that determine a show's fate. Their insights suggest that the proposed budget for Archive 81 season 2 was not in tandem with what Netflix was willing to offer. Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij's The OA was also canceled after season 2 for similar reasons.

How Teacup's Horror Themes & Tropes Compare To Archive 81

The Two Shows Perfectly Combine Horror With Sci-Fi

Man in gas mask and Scott Speedman looking startled in Teacup

For starters, both Teacup and Archive 81 instill a sense of claustrophobia in viewers by primarily unfolding in isolated settings. In their opening arcs, the two present a series of inexplicable events before gradually descending into heavy sci-fi. After riffing on the viewer's fear of the unknown almost throughout their first halves, both shows finally start offering insights into what is happening by revealing the origins of their central mysterious threats. The two shows also bring a human element to their narrative by focusing on familial themes surrounding trust and sacrifice.

Show	Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Score	Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score
Teacup	79%	73%
Archive 81	87%	74%

However, despite the many similarities, Teacup and Archive 81 are unique in their own way. Teacup embraces horror and paranoia by introducing a mysterious masked man whose arrival upends the main characters' lives. It becomes scarier and more intriguing as the characters try to figure out the rules of the strange situation they are in. Archive 81's terrors seem more reminiscent of movies like The Ring because the show uses technology as a vessel to highlight the eerie connections between the past and the present.

Archive 81 is a horror mystery series created for Netflix that follows archivist Dan Turner who has taken a job restoring a collection of damaged videotapes from 1994. Reconstructing the work of a documentary filmmaker named Melody Pendras, he is drawn into her investigation of a dangerous cult at the Visser apartment building. This place had burned down years prior, leaving several mysteries in its wake.
Teacup is a horror thriller series that follows a group of people thrust into the middle of rural Georgia who must face off with an unknown threat to stay alive.