''Just Beyond'' is an American

horror comedy Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...

anthology television series created by

Seth Grahame-Smith Seth Grahame-Smith (born Seth Jared Greenberg; January 4, 1976) is an American writer and film producer, best known as the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling novels '' Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' and '' Abraham Lincoln, Vampire ...

for

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, based on the

Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (stylized as BOOM! Studios), is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher. They are headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The company is a subsidiary of Random House division of Penguin Random House sin ...

graphic novel series of the same name by

R. L. Stine Robert Lawrence Stine (; born October 8, 1943) is an American novelist. He is the writer of '' Goosebumps,'' a horror fiction novel series which has sold over 400 million copies globally in 35 languages, becoming the second- best-selling book ...

. The series premiered on October 13, 2021, with all 8 episodes. The series was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023.

Cast

Episode 1 – "Leave Them Kids Alone"

Mckenna Grace Mckenna Grace (born June 25, 2006) is an American actress and singer. Born in Grapevine, Texas, she began acting professionally at age five and relocated to Los Angeles, California, as a child. Her earliest roles included Jasmine Bernstein in ...

as Veronica * Leeann Ross as Claire *

Nasim Pedrad Nasim Pedrad (; born November 18, 1981) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy and variety series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2009 to 2014. She later went on to star in the Fox sitcoms '' Mulaney'' ( ...

as Miss Genevieve * Lauren Lindsey Donzis as Heather

Episode 2 – "Parents Are From Mars, Kids Are From Venus"

Gabriel Bateman Gabriel Bateman (born September 10, 2004) is an American actor. He is best known for starring in numerous horror films, including as Robert in '' Annabelle'' (2014), Martin Wells in '' Lights Out'' (2016), Andy Barclay in '' Child's Play'' (2019) ...

as Jack * Arjun Athalye as Ronald *

Tim Heidecker Timothy Richard Heidecker (; born February 3, 1976) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric. As an actor, Heidecker's filmography includes roles in ' ...

as Dale *

Riki Lindhome Erika "Riki" Lindhome (born ) is an American actress, comedian and musician. She is best known as a singer and songwriter for the Comedy rock, comedy folk duo Garfunkel and Oates with Kate Micucci. After making her television debut in 2002 with ...

as Bonnie * Parvesh Cheena as Ron Sr. *

Henry Thomas Henry Jackson Thomas (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had the lead role of Elliott Taylor in the film '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and rece ...

as Crazy Chris *

William Tokarsky William Tokarsky is an American character actor known for his recurring role as Len on ''Welcome to Flatch''. He is also known for playing the Demon William on the Adult Swim series ''Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell'', and the Killer in the cult ...

as Floating Head * Rajani Nair as Gloria

Episode 3 – "Which Witch"

* Rachel Marsh as Fiona * Jy Prishkulnik as Luna *Sarah Borne as Madison *Will Kindrachuk as Emilio *Gabriella Garcia as Gemma *Hannah Kepple as Lianne

Episode 4 – "My Monster"

Megan Stott Megan Stott is an American actress. She had her breakthrough role in '' Little Fires Everywhere'' (2020) and had the lead role in 2024 series ''Penelope''. Early life From Fayetteville, Arkansas, she began acting at a young age, putting plays on w ...

as Olivia *

Sally Pressman Sally Pressman Bernstein is an American actress and dancer. She is perhaps best known for her role as Roxy LeBlanc on the Lifetime television series ''Army Wives'' (2007–2013). Early life Pressman was born Sally Pressman Bernstein in New Y ...

as Brook *

Elisha Henig Elisha Henig is an American actor, musician, and writer. Personal life and career Elisha Henig grew up in Portland, Oregon, and became interested in acting after taking a Shakespeare class at the age of eight. He began acting in guest roles in ...

as Graham *

Marcelle LeBlanc Marcelle LeBlanc is a film and television actress. LeBlanc is from Birmingham, Alabama. She began participating in theater at age 11. At age 14, she founded an initiative to provide other children with scholarships to participate in after-school ar ...

as Jade * Camryn Jade as Chloe * Max Bickelhaup as The Squeamber

Episode 5 – "Unfiltered"

* Izabela Vidovic as Lily Renton *

Christine Ko Christine Ko (born ) is an American actress, known for her roles as Emma on the CBS sitcom '' The Great Indoors'', Mandi on ''Upload'' and Emma on ''Dave''. Before her success in America, she had a brief career in Taiwan in the early 2010s. ...

as Ms. Fausse * Jordan Sherley as Carmen Morris * Leela Owen as Harper * Connor Christie as Ben

Episode 6 – "We've Got Spirits, Yes We Do"

Lexi Underwood Lexi Underwood (born August 28, 2003) is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Pearl Warren in '' Little Fires Everywhere''. She also played Athena in ''Will vs the Future,'' a comedic science fiction series created and exe ...

as Ella * Kate Baldwin as Vivian *

Ben Gleib Ben Gleib (born June 18, 1978) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, satirist, news commentator, and writer. Early life and education Gleib was born Ben Nathan Gleiberman to Nate and Ziva Gleiberman in Los Angeles, California, on June 18, 19 ...

as Oscar * Jackson Geach as Raymond * Emily Marie Palmer as Rosie * Claire Andres as Zoe *Terrence Clowe as Tour Guide

Episode 7 – "Standing Up For Yourself"

Cyrus Arnold Cyrus Arnold (born January 2, 2003) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, primarily guest-starring on various television programs, including playing BJ Malloy on the Nickelodeon sitcom '' Sam & Cat'' (2013–2014), before bei ...

as Trevor Larkin ** Logan Gray as Little Trevor Larkin * Smera Chandan as Maria * Spencer Fitzgerald as Hudson * Henry Shepherd as Evan Burger * Kwajalyn Brown as Principal Angela

Episode 8 – "The Treehouse"

* Cedric Joe as Sam * Christine Adams as Jenny * Malcolm Barrett as Andy * Jack Gore as Mason

Episodes

Production

In early May 2020,

ordered an eight-episode series based on

's graphic novels ''Just Beyond'' attaching

to write and serve as an executive producer. David Katzenberg,

Stephen Christy Stephen Christy (born 1985)Albert ChingNewsarama, August 10, 2010. is an American film and television producer, entertainment executive, and former graphic novel editor. He is the President of Development at graphic novel publisher Boom! Studios ...

and

Ross Richie Ross Richie (born May 22, 1970) is an American comic book publisher and the founder of Boom! Studios, film producer, television producer and comic book creator. Richie was a Keynote Speaker for the 2012 Harvey Awards and a judge for the "Spirit ...

also attached to executive producers and Stine as co-executive producer with

KatzSmith Productions KatzSmith Productions is an American film and television production company, founded by Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg. The company is known for producing the 2017 horror film '' It''. Overview In 2011, Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katz ...

and

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...

acting as studios behind the project as they have first look deal with

. That same month, the writer's room was assembled. Filming had begun in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

by March 2021, with

Marc Webb Marc Preston Webb (born August 31, 1974) is an American filmmaker and music video director. He made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the romantic comedy '' (500) Days of Summer.'' He then directed ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2012 ...

directing two episodes.

and

were cast as the stars of one episode each in April 2021, with

to guest star in an episode. Additional casting was announced in May, with

and

added.

Release

The series debuted on

on October 13, 2021.

Reception

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported an 88% approval rating with an average rating of 6.7/10, based on 8 critic reviews. Joel Keller of ''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' * '' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machin ...

'' acclaimed the sets and the

computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...

, stating they succeed to intensify the supernatural elements of the series, praised the performances of the cast and the humor, but claimed that the show lacks scary moments. Ashley Moulton of ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' rated the series 4 out of 5 stars, found agreeable that the protagonists are positive role models, and complimented how the show approaches different themes such as dealing with grief. Dayna Eileen of ''CGMagazine'' rated the series 7 out of 10, stated that the show succeeds to introduce the horror genre to unfamiliar viewers, complimented how the series approaches adolescence and spooky themes, but found some dialogues lacking interest. Tara Bennett of ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' rated the series 6 out of 10, praised the performances of the cast, especially Rachel Marsh as a teen witch, but stated that the show focuses too much on morality than providing enough scary moments.

Accolades

The series was nominated for Children's Episodic, Long Form and Specials at the 2022 Writers Guild of America Awards.

References

External links

* {{Disney+ original ended series 2020s American anthology television series 2020s American horror comedy television series 2021 American television series debuts 2021 American television series endings American English-language television shows Boom! Studios adaptations Disney+ original programming Television series by 20th Television Television shows based on American comics