Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Bizarre series about murder, mystery, mental health.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Shining Vale
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
SHINING VALE is a comedy-infused horror mystery featuring a family that leaves Brooklyn and ends up in a haunted house in Connecticut. After author and recovering alcoholic Patricia "Pat" Phelps (Courteney Cox) has a fling with the family's handyman, her patient husband Terry (Greg Kinnear) insists that they leave Brooklyn and start over. They move with daughter Gaynor (Gus Birney) and tech-addicted son Jake (Dylan Gage) into an old house in the small town of Shining Vale, Connecticut to start their new life. But the house has a terrible past, and soon Pat begins to see the ghost of a 1950s housewife named Rosemary (Mira Sorvino). Not sure if Rosemary is an actual ghost, a muse, or a figment of her unconscious resulting from taking anti-depressants freely prescribed by the couple's therapist, Pat attempts to finish her second novel while her family continues to adjust to their new life and her strange behavior.
Is It Any Good?
This bizarre series attempts to combine humor and horror to create a unique viewing experience, but doesn't full succeed at either. While there are some lighthearted moments, and some horror film-inspired camera work and jump scares, it's just not particularly funny or scary. Nonetheless, what Shining Vale does offer is an insightful storyline that highlights the sexism that exists in the field of mental health. It also underscores how women who are dissatisfied with their lives or struggling to conform to patriarchal expectations of society have been historically victimized by it. But thanks to some uneven writing, and the jarring way Shining Vale's presents the sequence of events, some viewers may find it too difficult to stick with in order to fully appreciate these messages. Those who do may find the overall show compelling.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way people struggling with mental health issues are portrayed in films and on TV What stereotypes have been historically used to represent the mentally ill? Has this improved over the years?
What is the real horror story being told in Shining Vale? If given the opportunity, would you tell it differently?
TV Details
- Premiere date : March 6, 2022
- Cast : Courteney Cox , Greg Kinnear , Mira Sorvino
- Network : Starz
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : October 5, 2022
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