In 1994, a group of teens break into a fort on the outskirts of Brooklyn. Not all of them come out. In 2024, CeCe (Jayden Bartels) and Devin (Sam McCarthy) go to stay with their dad Anthony (David Schwimmer) for the summer.  Anthony was one of the kids in 1994, he’s never stopped looking for his brother and his kids are about to discover that the past is done with us when it says it is…

The structure of this season is really interesting, using the events in 1994 and their consequences as a lens to explore issues of class, privilege and adolescent life. It’s not quite an anthology, more a loose collection of stories with a unified and informal arc.

‘Stay Out of the Basement’ is a strong, often very good introduction. Hilary Winston and Rob Letterman’s script introduces the big cast in some smart ways that drop you in the middle and show you how to swim to the sides. Anthony’s clash with Trey (Stony Blyden), his neighbour adds an extra dimension to Devin pining over childhood sweetheart Frankie (Galilea La Salvia) who happens to be Trey’s girlfriend. CeCe’s hyper competency is cut with a little light crime. Anthony’s nervy calm is driven both by his loss of his brother and his mother’s gradual fall into dementia. No one is one thing. No one is entirely innocent and no one, at all, is safe.

That atmosphere, and excellent cast, carry the show through the lumpy tone of these first episodes. The ‘everything sounds like Marvel now’ criticism levelled at so many new movies and shows always feels unwarranted apart from when it doesn’t, and this is one of those times. There’s some genuinely creepy body horror on display here, and the idea of combining botanical horror with teen angst is very smart. Having a character yell ‘That’s not good!’ as plants emerge from their arms and try and kill them is much less so.

Those moments clank and there are more than a couple of them. But the rest is witty, dark, pulls no punches and sets up a fun arc I’m looking forward to seeing explored.

Verdict: Not perfect, but what is? And most definitely a good start. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart