The Syfy Original Series Haven, created by Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn, is a wonderful supernatural mystery loosely based on the novel The Colorado Kid by Stephen King. The show stars Emily Rose, who is most known for her work in the video game series Uncharted. Rose plays Audrey, an FBI agent who comes to the small town of Haven, Maine, where some of the townspeople are afflicted with curses referred to on the show as “Troubles.” A procedural with a supernatural twist, the underrated series was a lot more than meets the eye and deserves to be your next binge.
‘Haven’ Puts a Unique Spin on the Monster-of-the-Week Format
The format of Haven is similar to early Smallville, where each week Clark Kent discovers a different person who’d gained superpowers due to contact with the meteor rock in Smallville. What makes Haven special is how unique and inventive the paranormal plots are. In one episode, a troubled person causes all the dogs in the pound to turn into humans. In another, a painting of Lady Justice comes to life to act as a golem for a troubled person and get vengeance on all the people who escaped justice in the courthouse. Haven indulges in plenty of beloved sci-fi tropes like time travel and body swapping, along with the more bizarre and creative plots.
The town of Haven includes quirky supporting characters like Vince Teagues (Richard Donat) and Dave Teagues (John Dunsworth), the always-bickering brothers who run the newspaper. The goofy recurring characters give Haven a Gilmore Girls type of charm. In addition to providing comic relief, the ensemble helps make the town feel real, giving the audience a reason to care about the supernatural curses plaguing them.
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‘Haven’ Presents an Intriguing Mystery With Audrey and Her Past
Image via Syfy
In addition to the satisfying supernatural mystery stories in each episode, Haven has an ongoing mystery involving Audrey’s past. She discovers she’s had many past identities and seems never to age, but she always returns to Haven to help the Troubled in every new identity. The mysteries around Audrey’s past, her connection to the strange town, and her destiny unfold in an exciting way over the show’s five seasons. How she slowly discovers her past puts Haven among the best supernatural mystery shows. Audrey's many past identities allow Emily Rose to flex her acting muscles, playing multiple personas. The mystery also leads to compelling drama as Audrey wonders if she's the only person who can save Haven for the Troubles and what sacrifices she's willing to make.
‘Haven’ Had Plenty of Romance and a Love Triangle To Boot
Haven is a romantic, steamy show that features a classic love triangle. When Audrey comes to the town, she meets Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant), a police detective who becomes her partner, and Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour), a bad boy who lives on a boat and owns a bar. The way Audrey is torn between a hero and a bad boy feels reminiscent of The Vampire Diaries and a dozen other shows. While the love triangle starts off fairly formulaic, it works because of the execution. Emily Rose has great chemistry with both actors, and the show includes strong tantalizing scenes for each part of the love triangle. As Haven goes on, the romance becomes less cliché and, thanks to the sci-fi premise, goes in wild directions. In particular, the time travel aspect throws bonkers curveballs at the Audrey/Nathan relationship.
Haven has somewhat archetypal characters and can have flat dialogue, but the plotting is far better than many supernatural shows. This is true of both the episodic plots and the overarching mystery. Fans of either sci-fi/fantasy procedurals like Supernatural or paranormal mysteries like From are sure to have a great time. While many supernatural mystery shows start to feel like they’re treading water after the first season, this is a well-paced mystery that hooks the audience early and manages to keep up the interest all the way to the conclusion. This is largely because even the episodes that don’t move the larger mystery forward have stunningly entertaining standalone plotlines with the Troubled-person-of-the-week making every episode a strong entry in the series.
Haven is available to stream in the U.S. on Prime Video.
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Release Date July 9, 2010
English (US) ·