Shining Vale

Shining Vale is an American satirical comedy horror television series created by Jeff Astrof and Sharon Horgan. The series stars Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear, Sherilyn Fenn, Mira Sorvino, Merrin Dungey, and Judith Light. It premiered on Starz on March 6, 2022. In May 2022, the series was renewed for a second season. The second season premiered on October 13, 2023. In December 2023, the series was canceled after two seasons, with its seasons to be removed from the streaming service. On January 1, 2025, the series became available for streaming on Max.

Premise

A dysfunctional family moves from the city to a small town after Patricia "Pat" Phelps, a former "wild child" who became famous through writing raunchy female empowerment novels, is caught cheating on her husband. The house the family moves into is a place where, in the past, terrible atrocities have taken place. Nobody seems to suspect anything odd except for Pat who is convinced she is either depressed or possessed. Pat has been sober for 16 years, but begins to feel very unfulfilled in life – she still has not written her second novel, she cannot remember the last time she had sex with her husband, and her teenage kids have grown up to the point they do not want their mother in their lives. Soon, the demons haunting the family's new home begin to appear much more real.

Cast and characters

Main

Courteney Cox as Patricia "Pat" Phelps
Greg Kinnear as Terry Phelps
Gus Birney as Gaynor Phelps
Dylan Gage as Jake Phelps
Merrin Dungey as Kam
Mira Sorvino as Rosemary Wellingham / Ruth Levin / Nellie Burke

Recurring

Sherilyn Fenn as Robyn Court
Judith Light as Joan
Alysia Reiner as Kathryn
Susan Park as Valerie He
Derek Luh as Ryan He
Parvesh Cheena as Laird
James M. Connor as Dr. Berg
Ellie Grace Pomeroy as Daisy Wellingham
Benjamin Steinberg as Neil
Allison Tolman as Principal Woodcock
Alberto Frezza as Ennio

Production

Development

In January 2018, it was announced that Showtime had put the project from Warner Bros. Television Studios in development with a pilot production commitment. Jeff Astrof and Sharon Horgan were set to write and create the series, as well as executive produce alongside Clelia Mountford for Horgan's production company Merman and Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor of Kapital Entertainment. In August 2019, the project was given an official pilot order, with the series moving to Starz and Lionsgate Television joining as a co-production studio. In February 2020, Dearbhla Walsh was set to direct and executive produce the pilot. In April 2021, Starz gave the project a series order consisting of eight half hour episodes. In May 2022, Starz renewed the series for an eight-episode second season. In December 2023, Starz canceled the series after two seasons.

Casting

In February 2020, Courteney Cox was cast in the lead role. In July 2020, Greg Kinnear joined the main cast alongside Gus Birney and Dylan Gage who were added the following month. In February 2021, Mira Sorvino and Merrin Dungey were cast in main roles. In July 2021, Alysia Reiner was cast in a recurring role. The following month, Judith Light joined the main cast.

Filming

The pilot episode was filmed throughout March 2021 in Los Angeles. Once the show was greenlit, the rest of the season started shooting in July 2021. Production on season 2 started in October 2022.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 71% approval rating based on 24 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.20/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Shining Vales uneasy mix of comedy and horror can be transparently try-hard, but Courteney Cox's saucy performance gives this genre mashup a glitter of promise." On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 61 out of 100, based on 16 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".