Teacup: Tempest Tossed

Maggie Chenoweth (Yvonne Stahovski) is a veterinarian in rural Georgia where she lives with her family on a ranch.  The family consists of her and her husband, James (Scott Speedman who recently confessed to having an affair); James’ mother, Ellen (Kathy Baker) whose health is declining; Meryl (Emilie Bierre) their smart teen daughter; and Arlo (Caleb Dolden) their young son.  As the series begins, the animals on the farm start acting strange, showing signs of agitation. Arlo sees one of their goats go into the woods and goes missing while looking for it, meanwhile, the Shanley family comes over with a horse that needs emergency attention, while Maggie attends to the horse with Ruben Shanley (Chaske Spencer), his wife Val (Diany Rodriguez) and son Nicholas (Luciano Leroux) help search for Arlo.  Don Kelley (Boris McGiver) and his wife arrive to warn the family about a big black rabid dog in the area and agrees to help look for their son.  Arlo eventually walks out of the woods with handprints in blood on his arms and collapses in his mother’s arms.  Things get weirder as the power flickers and goes out and none of the cars will start and no cell phones can get any service.  Arlo begins to chant something and like the lights, he seems to flicker between himself and another person possibly possessing him.  A masked figure arrives and sprays a line of paint around their house and warns them by writing on a whiteboard to not cross the line.  And when someone does, there are dire consequences. This diverse group of neighbors find themselves trapped and unable to leave the Chenoweth ranch.

Teacup is a 2024 American horror series created by Ian McCulloch and inspired by the novel Stinger by Robert R. McCammon. It first premiered at Fantastic Fest in September of 2024 and started streaming on Peacock on October 10, 2024 and consists of eight episodes about half an hour long, and each week two episodes will be released simultaneously with the final two episodes releasing on Halloween.  The show is getting mainly positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes which gave it a 6.2/10.  Metacritic isn’t as positive with a weighted average score of 54 out of 100 siting “mixed to average” reviews.

I have an intense reaction to storylines that put animals in danger, and as this story begins, I was fearful that I would not be able to get through the first episode. But as the plot unfolded, the animals involved seemed to be less the focus.  By the second episode, I was invested and intrigued by what was happening, although not much information about the actual cause of their situation has been revealed.  The characters are all interesting and likeable even though they may not be perfect and the dynamics between characters are well portrayed sometimes overtly and sometimes subtly.  It is this interplay between personas that eventually won me over from my skepticism as well as the general mystery unfolding within the main plot.  I probably would not have continued watching the series if it were not for the second episode being released and I am glad I decided to continue watching.  Overall, it is a well-produced and acted show with an intriguing premise and interesting characters.