Rachel (Camila Morrone, of Daisy Jones & The Six<\/a>) is getting married in five days. She and her fianc\u00e9 Nicky (Adam DiMarco, of Overcompensating<\/a>) are road-tripping to his family\u2019s vacation home deep in a snowy forest for an intimate ceremony. It would be lovely, except Rachel barely has time to meet the in-laws before Nicky\u2019s sister Portia cheerfully tells her about the Sorry Man, a local legend about a forest-dwelling killer who turns brides inside out searching for his lost child. Then a blood-soaked note addressed to Rachel arrives in the mail: \u201cDon\u2019t Marry Him.\u201d Welcome to wedding week.<\/p>\n Morrone is a terrific lead. She takes Rachel so seriously that we invest in seeing her survive, whether the threat is supernatural, familial, or self-inflicted. Her pseudo-stepfather is Al Pacino, and maybe she picked up a few things, because she rises above a script that occasionally asks her to do things her character would never have done two episodes earlier.<\/p>\n The chemistry between Morrone and DiMarco is one of the show\u2019s strongest assets. They feel like a real couple, which makes it that much harder to figure out how much we should trust either of them. DiMarco, in a nice pivot from the frat-boy energy he\u2019s often cast for, plays Nicky as a sweet mama\u2019s boy who can only watch his fianc\u00e9e unravel. He sells the devotion so convincingly that you\u2019re never quite sure if it\u2019s love or something else holding him in place.<\/p>\n Something Very Bad is Going to Happen Trailer (Netflix)<\/p>\n As Nicky\u2019s parents, Jennifer Jason Leigh (Crime 101<\/a>) and Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs<\/a>) are a masterstroke of casting. Two instantly recognizable character actors who made their names playing some of the most unsettling villains of the \u201990s, now positioned as warm, welcoming in-laws. Or at least that\u2019s what they want Rachel to believe. Leigh has a few strong scenes to run with, even if the show doesn\u2019t use her to her full potential. Levine brings stately authority to Boris that keeps you guessing about his intentions right up to the end.<\/p>\n Jeff Wilbusch and Karla Crome have tricky work to do as Nicky\u2019s brother Jules and his wife Nell. Jules is in his second marriage and is kind of a nightmare, something Nell knows all too well. Yet they both develop a protective instinct toward Rachel that comes loaded with a question: when push comes to shove, will they choose an outsider over blood? Zlatko Buri\u0107 rounds out the ensemble in a role I can\u2019t describe without spoiling. His large presence and personality go a long way in establishing exactly what the story needs when it needs it most.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s Portia. Gus Birney (Ghosted<\/a>) is the character destined to split audiences right down the middle, and she knows it. Birney is committed to going all in and then asking for seconds. She\u2019s pushy, manic, screechy, delightfully obnoxious, and gifted the most horrifically funny lines in the entire show, routinely saying the worst possible things to people at the worst possible times. She will drive some viewers absolutely crazy. She is also exactly the kick in the pants the show needs every single time she appears.<\/p>\n The first two episodes, directed by Weronika Tofilska (Emmy-nominated for Baby Reindeer<\/a> and co-writer of Love Lies Bleeding<\/a>), are excellent puzzle boxes that don\u2019t fully take shape until they\u2019ve nearly reached their conclusions. They set up the meat of what\u2019s to come without breaking a sweat and still find time to establish some seriously creepy characters who will factor in throughout the season. If you\u2019ve ever gotten the heebie-jeebies going into a roadside restroom alone at night, you\u2019re going to want the lights on for the first episode.<\/p>\n
![\"Gus](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/something-very-bad-4.webp.webp\"\/)
Gus Birney as Portia in episode 101 of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen Courtesy of Netflix \u00a9 2026<\/p>\n