NU writers explain how they engineered Netflix horror twists

Haley Z. Boston and Isaac Sims, Northwestern Communication alumni, reflect on the writer’s room process behind Netflix’s horror limited series “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen,” from greenlight panic to designing endings that feel both surprising and ine

Two months after “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” landed on Netflix, the show is still being discussed the way only real horror works: not just for what it shows, but for how it makes you realize—too late—that you were never in control of where the story was going.

Writer Haley Z. Boston (Communication ’16) remembers the moment the project changed shape from idea to reality. When it was greenlit. she said she was “so excited and scared. ” and that “from the second that call came. my life just changed immediately.” She described immediately shifting into logistics—thinking about “what’s the budget. and where are we gonna shoot. and who’s gonna direct. ” and then having to “hire all these people.” In her telling. it felt like “the train is moving. ” and she didn’t stop working for two years.

The limited series. executively produced by “Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer. follows betrothed couple Rachel and Nicky in the days leading up to their wedding. Boston and Isaac Sims (Communication ’17)—both radio. television and film majors—say the show’s writing didn’t just chase scares. It centered toxic family dynamics, the question of soulmates, and managing grief.

In the writer’s room. Sims called the atmosphere “pretty incredible.” He said he’s been in several writers’ rooms. but this one blended talent in a way that stood out. “We had people who were baked and born into the horror universe,” Sims said. “Everyone brought something really unique and really special to the room.” He credited Boston with “wrangling all these different writers’ backgrounds” and “collecting a room full of voices she thought would amplify the story she was trying to tell.”.

The conversations that most stuck were about expectations—how the show sets them up, then flips them.

Boston said she’s “always trying to do that” on purpose: “set expectations. and then make you think ‘X’ is going to happen. and then at the last minute. it’s actually ‘Y.’” She said the writers kept returning to what she described as the ideal ending: “the best endings being surprising but inevitable.” The goal. she said. was to build twists “in service of trying to make sure that the ending was going to surprise you. ” while still letting viewers look back and think. “Oh. I should have seen that coming.”.

Sims added that the room had a saying: “What would Damon Lindelof do?” He said Lindelof is known for “subverting those tropes and expectations and always getting away with it. ” and that it became a conscious decision. “If we’re gonna set up a trope. ” Sims said. “we need to somehow subvert your expectations about how it’s gonna pay off.”.

Even the show’s smaller nods are built around recognition and reinvention. Boston was asked about NU cameos in the series, and she said she loves when other people include those references. She pointed to noticing Northwestern cameos across other films—including that in “The Devil Wears Prada” it’s mentioned—and said Northwestern’s own references feel like “a trend of homaging the school.” Her decision. she said. was to “be a part of the trend.”.

Her Northwestern experience. she said. didn’t just teach her how to write—it taught her how to take criticism when the work is unusual. She described taking “a lot of writing classes at Northwestern” and also completing a creative writing minor. Boston said it was “the first time I’d ever had my work read out loud and critiqued.” One assignment required the class to write stories and then submit “a 500-word essay critiquing everyone else’s story.”

She wrote a slasher story about “these two girls that throw a party and then kill everyone. ” and she said the reaction split down the middle: “Half of the class hated it. and the other half loved it.” She called it proof of what she wanted to learn: if you make something bold and unique. you shouldn’t expect universal approval. “It’s not going to have 100% on Rotten Tomatoes,” she said.

Sims described a different kind of Northwestern lesson: experimentation backed by early trust. He said he was fortunate to receive several grants to make short films at Northwestern. and that there was “very little oversight” of that process. “Getting that high-level trust from people at a very early time in my creative development emboldened me,” Sims said. He connected that to how he works in a room now—operating from confidence as long as his own standards are met. “As long as I meet the standards that I set for myself. we’re gonna deliver something pretty great. ” he said.

Boston also pointed out that the show carries Easter eggs that reward repeat viewing.

She said the address of the house shown on the envelope at the end of the pilot is the date that “Carrie” came out—11376—and that the original film came out November 3rd. 1976. She also said Rachel wears a shirt at the end of the pilot that has the Timberline Lodge on it. describing Timberline Lodge as a lodge where they shot the hotel’s exterior in “The Shining.”.

Another detail Boston said she has “never told anyone” concerns the wedding date being the Super Bowl. She explained that when “the blood bath is happening,” Jules puts Jude in the room and says, “Keep the TV on,” while “you can hear the announcers talking about the Super Bowl.”

When asked for advice for people trying to break into screenwriting and creating shows now. Boston returned to a rejection of chasing trends. She said she notices many people trying to follow trends with writing. but that she doesn’t think that’s the best approach. “I really believe that if you write something that’s true to you and that you want to see. ” she said. “your passion will be evident in the writing.” She urged aspiring writers to “Write the thing that really moves you. the story that you really want to tell. ” adding that it doesn’t have to be autobiographical—her show did not happen to her—but she described it as “my experience about my own fears of commitment” that became a story.

Sims offered his own version of the same priority: no matter how clever the concept is. it has to land through people. “No matter how cool your concept. how meticulously you plot things out. ” Sims said. “every medium. whether it’s TV or film or a book. it’s all gonna come down to character.” He said he writes a lot of sci-fi and starts with the cool concept he wants to explore. but every time he sits down he has to make the character stronger. “I don’t think anyone ultimately cares about how cool my sci-fi machinations are. unless they have someone to latch onto. ” he said. adding that the best plots and twists only emerge when the character is strong from the beginning.

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen Haley Z. Boston Isaac Sims Northwestern Communication Netflix limited series horror writer’s room subverting expectations Easter eggs Damon Lindelof Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer