While the first two installments of Archive 81 and adapt the renowned horror podcast Borrasca. Akin to books, podcasts are slowly becoming great sources of inspiration for filmmakers and showrunners. Owing to this, it isn't surprising that several podcasts, such as Homecoming, Limetown, and Lore, have been traversed to the small screen in the past few years. The horror genre is also catching up to this booming trend, and Archive 81's success proves that even the most twisted and convoluted cosmic horror podcasts can translate well to television.
Riverdale fame) voicing its main character, Borrasca immerses listeners into the eccentricities of its grim world and rarely leaves a dull moment with its carnival ride of scares.
Borrasca could be a worthy addition to Mike Flanagan's repertoire because it shares several narrative themes and idiosyncrasies with his existing Netflix shows. The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass, Borrasca's setup is confined to a harrowing town where supernatural hauntings are used as veils to foreshadow brewing conspiracies and complacencies. As Guillermo del Toro does in his movies, Flanagan's shows and the podcast expand the horror tome by using dark fictional beings as mere narrative devices to highlight how humans themselves can be the real monsters. This horror trope — although fairly old and common — adds a human element to the mix, and makes the misadventures of the characters all the more relatable and thought-provoking. As a result, Borrasca is the ideal source material to adapt.
These glaring parallels between Flanagan's shows and Borrasca are no coincidence. The podcast has originally been written by Batman Unburied contributor Rebecca Klingel (also known as CK Walker), who first posted it on Reddit's r/nosleep community. Soon after going viral, the eight-part tale also garnered Mike Flanagan's attention, who recruited Klingel to write The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor (via RollingStone). Not to mention, although Rebecca Klingel does not have writing credits in Midnight Mass, Borrasca's coda is every bit as explosive and hard-hitting as the TV show's finale. This goes to show that with a talented writer at its fore, the podcast truly has potential and deserves a TV adaptation.
Considering how Borrasca is already under Flanagan's radar, The Haunting of Hill House's creator might consider it for a small screen adaptation someday. However, for now, no confirmations regarding this have been made. Mike Flanagan's next project is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Fall of The House of Usher, which again, has all the trademarks of the director's brand of horror — from grief-stricken characters to haunted mansions. Unsurprisingly, Rebecca Klingel is also a part of the show's writing team (via Rebecca Klingel's Twitter), suggesting that although Borrasca's future on the small screen may be uncertain, fans will get to see other TV shows with all the ingredients that make the podcast so scintillating and terrifying.