Crossing the blue line: 'Teacup' serves up a sci-fi brew of suspense and danger

After binge-watching a lot of homegrown movies, reality TV shows and drama of late, it was time to switch up the pace. 

The glowing reviews on “Teacup” compelled me to check out the eight-part Showmax series. 

Inspired by Robert McCammon's bestselling novel, “Stinger”, it is set in the scenic countryside of Georgia, where the neighbours come together after finding themselves unable to cross a blue line around them. 

The series evokes a dystopian atmosphere characterised by panic, a sense of helplessness, and enforced acts of heroism.

Think of offerings like “Leave the World Behind”, “Paradise”, “Wayward Pines”, “The Outsider”, “12 Monkeys” and “Under the Dome”.

Episode one left me fascinated with its ominous atmosphere. Something is not okay in the woods as the bodies of dead animals are strewn about. 

A wounded woman is wandering about, looking very dazed. 

And then Arlo Chenoweth (Cabel Dolden), a curious little boy,  is attacked by something.

Meanwhile, back on the family farm, his veterinarian mother Maggie (Yvonne Strahovski) buries the hatchet with her mother-in-law Ellen (Kathy Baker), who is suffering from multiple sclerosis.

With it being almost dinner time, Maggie checks in with her teen daughter Meryl (Emilie Bierre) and husband James (Scott Speedman) on the whereabouts of Arlo. 

Unfazed at first, the family becomes unsettled when neighbouring rancher Ruben Shanley (Chaske Spencer), his wife Valeria (Diany Rodriguez) and their son Nicholas (Luciano Leroux) arrive with a badly wounded horse. 

Around the same time, another neighbour, Donald Kelly (Boris McGiver), arrives with his wife seeking a lost pet. 

With it getting very dark, Maggie becomes increasingly concerned about her son’s well-being, only to have him return, mumbling something, and looking disoriented.

Uncertain of what’s going on, everyone’s immediate reaction is to get help. However, none of the vehicles would start. 

And so James and Ruben head out on foot to get help. While doing so, they come across a masked man who holds up a sign warning them not to cross a blue line.

Everyone is so confused until they witness how Donald’s wife’s body disintegrates in front of them after unknowingly crossing the line.

Arlo, who is inhabited by a foreign entity, has a few answers. But everyone is too frazzled, looking for answers to truly pay attention.

All they know is that you can’t cross the blue line and you can’t trust anyone. 

Aside from the main premise, there’s underlying tension as James’s infidelity with Valeria comes to light. 

Amid the pervading uneasiness, McNab (Rob Morgan) tries to help as he has a better understanding of the aliens invading their hometown. 

Although “Teacup” is touted as a horror, it comes across as more of a dystopian sci-fi. 

The script is taut with plenty of suspense to leave the streamer on tenterhooks. Midway through the series, however, it becomes a little frustrating as the narrative appears to be going in circles. 

If the ending is anything to go by, a sequel is on the cards. 

However, I hope the storytelling is more layered than this season, which appears to lose impetus towards the end. Great casting, though. 

Rating: 3/5 - solid and enjoyable series, though not groundbreaking.

Below are recommendations for similar TV shows:

Paradise

A political thriller centred on the death of a president while under the protection of the special security service team. However, all is not as it seems. And when agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) starts his own investigation, he discovers conspiracy theories and cover-ups that could uproot all their lives in a newly created world.

The Leftovers

Three years following the "Sudden Departure," a global incident where 2% of the population vanished, the series centres on police chief Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) and his family. It also follows the lives of Nora Durst (Carrie Coon), a grieving widow, and her brother, Reverend Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston), as they navigate the challenges of life after this event.

Their experiences adjusting to this new reality form the core of the narrative.