‘Teacup’ Season 1 Review – Wan-Produced Horror Pours Plentiful Scares

TEACUP — “Think About the Bubbles” Episode 101 — Pictured: Rob Morgan as McNab

Teacup comes from James Wan’s ever-growing corner of production, one that had yielded numerous horror efforts worth writing home about in recent memory. After his own directorial run on both the small-scale and franchise scenes, Wan has started pulling strings from the production chair. He’s had his hand here, there, and just about everywhere.

This, though, is his first foray onto the television scene in that regard. Peacock, in an apparent attempt to offer more than classic television that they just so happen to have the rights to, has upped their original content output as of late. On that slate, Teacup has stood out not only due to Wan’s name but also due to the trailers.

The advertising for this thing has made it look mean, and the full thing delivers. With eight episodes to develop itself, the show does require a bit of patience from the beginning. In simply following a group of neighbors on a plot of rural land in Georgia, the threat they must eventually face together isn’t immediately present (at least to us).

But it helps tremendously that said characters are both well-acted and written. Wan and his works have been trademarked by memorable leads – it’s what solidified his Conjuring films in mainstream memory. If the characters in a horror project are so good that you can’t look away, you’ve got something special. Caring more about the characters than looking away for fear factor reasons creates a nasty relationship between the viewer and the content and, much like those aforementioned films, it sets Teacup apart.

This being a serialized story goes a long way in this regard, too. Horror television is a bit of a rarity going back in history, though the genre has been popularized as of late with efforts from the likes of Mike Flanagan on Netflix and elsewhere. Teacup, if not quite as disturbing or dismembering as Flanagan’s works, still fits in quite well alongside them on that scene. Directors Evan Katz and Chloe Okuno instill the series’ visuals with a dreamy quality that takes the aforementioned qualities of disturbia and paints them over with a cloudy sheen.

There’s a lot to be unsettled by here still, but over eight episodes, much of it is unraveled naturally. Not only does this allow scares to blossom, but it goes back to building characters as well. By the time the kettle is whistling and tea time is nigh, you’re in far too deep to spin on your heels and run the other way. That is, if you made it that far. Even in this recommendation, it can be realized that Teacup moseys about a bit too often.

It’s the other side of the same coin in regards to this being an episodic story. You get the good in satisfying payoffs and developed characters, but you must also take the bad: occasionally jumbled pacing and some episodes and stints that feel less important than others. Yet, in the end, Teacup ties it all together and brings everything home. When the series reaches a boiling point and the table is set, fans of Wan’s energetic horror tendencies are served a full plate at every necessary interval. This is an especially much-needed win for Peacock, which is starting to secretly build a decent display of original content, burying their usual anemic standard.

If you can handle horror, even if you aren’t a full-fledged fan, Teacup is worth a watch. It’ll likely go down as one of the better spooky efforts on television of this year, and the fact that it just so happens to be in season right now makes it that much better. Pour a cup, kick back, and tap in.

Teacup is currently available to stream on Peacock.