The ‘Burbs Season 1 Review – Foreclose This Weak TV Adaptation

Joe Dante’s The ‘Burbs contains such a scrumptious black comedy influence to it, holding up to this day. It’s a parody of the suburban lifestyle and nosy neighbors, though Ray Peterson’s (Tom Hanks) concerns prove to be accurate in the end. Now, almost 40 years later, The ‘Burbs returns – this time, to the world of TV.

Now, let’s make one thing clear here: This TV show isn’t an adaptation of the film; it’s only loosely inspired – and the word “loosely” is important here. It’s an all-new story featuring married couple Samira (Keke Palmer) and Rob (Jack Whitehall), who move back into Rob’s childhood home in the ‘burbs to raise their child. Samira grows suspicious of an abandoned Victorian house on the street, even more so when she hears rumors about what happened there. Matters escalate after a strange man named Gary (Justin Kirk) moves into this home soon thereafter, and Gary loves his privacy. Naturally, Samira and her neighbors’ curiosity piques at what secrets might be hidden behind the door.

Created by Celeste Hughey, The ‘Burbs borrows more from Knives Out than the original film. The show paints out everyone as having a deep-rooted secret and being a potential suspect in what’s really happening in this story. Yet, the writing on the show never matches the same level of Rian Johnson’s addictive murder-mystery franchise, or even the over-the-top comedy from the original ‘Burbs film. Some of the connections and premises seem even too far-fetched by satirical standards, while the balance of character motivations is too disproportionate to take anyone seriously. Yes, it’s clear that the writers are trying to suggest that an all-too-perfect neighborhood has its sordid secrets and no one is who they claim to be, but Desperate Housewives handles this concept in a nuanced, better way than The ‘Burbs does.

You can’t fault the performances in The ‘Burbs. Much like he did as Colin Robinson in What We Do in the Shadows, Mark Proksch turns into the low-key scene-stealer as Tod, while everyone else convincingly plays their characters to the best of their abilities. However, they can’t save a bland and unimaginative story. This is the boiled chicken and white rice of TV; it’s there, you can consume it, but wouldn’t you want something with more zest and flavor?

Furthermore, The ‘Burbs could have been a movie rather than dragged out for eight episodes. In line with what the Surf Dracula meme mocks about modern film and TV, this show goes round and round in circles, up and down the cul-de-sac, seemingly never getting to the point of what it’s about. Simply speaking, there isn’t enough juice here for an entire series, but it’s clear that someone said, “Just stretch it out for as long as possible.”

Then, the actual revelation of what is happening. The uncovering of the big mystery… Sigh. Does anyone know how to get time back? While there are a few intriguing setups along the way, The ‘Burbs falls flat on its face at the end. It’s a double-sized nothing burger with a side of wasted-time fries and pointless side quests to occupy eight episodes. The ending leaves an opening for a potential second season, but let’s just call it quits right here and never speak about this show ever again.

The biggest sin that The ‘Burbs commits is that it shares the same name with the 1989 cult classic movie. Not even the little homages to the original can save this uninspired effort. Pointless and boring, it’s much ado about nothing, and it’s likely that no one will even remember its existence by next month.

The ‘Burbs airs on Showmax.

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