Reacher’s breakout star got their first big break with this horror series, which is best described as Backrooms meets Twin Peaks. With Obsession becoming the highest-grossing original horror of the 21st Century and Backrooms becoming a runaway hit, it’s fair to say YouTube content creators are having a moment in 2026. Naturally, Hollywood will take the wrong lessons from this current movement – as studios have already rushed to greenlight more “viral” horror shorts – but it’s still nice to see fresh blood arriving to the genre.
In particular, audiences should expect more of the liminal, uncanny style that Backrooms is a perfect example of. This dreamy brand of chills was previously pioneered by David Lynch movies like Eraserhead or Lost Highway, with the late, great filmmaker having a unique talent for tapping into nightmare logic. For horror fans who want a series that blends Backrooms and the works of David Lynch together, Channel Zero comes highly recommended.
Four questions, one right answer.
Which movie is this?
This four-season anthology adapted a new “creepypasta” story each season. The first series, for example, adapted “Candle Cove,” about a group of adults linked by a creepy kids’ show that seemingly never existed. Despite being well-reviewed and giving actors like Reacher star Maria Sten their first big roles, the show never got the attention it deserved.
Channel Zero Is The 2010s Most Underrated Horror Show
Channel Zero was produced by the Syfy Channel from 2016 to 2018, and while it may have lacked the budget of something like American Horror Story, it more than made up for that in imagination. Each season had its own distinct look and themes, and in a rare move, all six episodes of a given year were directed by the same filmmaker. For instance, Arkasha Stevenson (The First Omen) helmed every episode of season three, Butcher’s Block.
Channel Zero was always focused on building a sense of dread and atmosphere, as opposed to jump scares or gore. It certainly had its moments of both though, with Butcher’s Block featuring some wince-inducing instances of bloodshed. That said, the show was more likely to induce a chill with its visuals, from the repulsive Tooth Child – a monster comprised entirely of teeth – to an impossible staircase leading to a doorway suspended in midair.
Channel Zero always felt like it was designed with a niche audience in mind, and that particular audience adored it. It deserved a wider viewer base though, and if it had aired around the time Backrooms was coming out, it may have broken through in a bigger way. All four seasons can currently be found streaming on Shudder, and at six episodes per series, it’s bingeable.
Backrooms Fans Will Adore Channel Zero’s Second Season
Arguably the best season of Channel Zero is the second, No-End House. This follows a grieving teenager who enters the titular haunted house and is soon sucked into a strange, parallel dimension where a copy of her late father exists. While every season has some eerie example of liminal horror, No-End House almost feels like a prototype for Backrooms.
Both are horror tales born from the internet age dealing with alternate realities that look like our own, but just slightly off. The “memory eating” in No-End House somewhat mirrors the unnerving dinner scene from Backrooms too. Channel Zero showrunner Nick Antosca also cited It Follows and John Carpenter movies like Halloween as stylistic influences on the second season, which can be seen in its abandoned suburban settings.
In conclusion, Backrooms fans looking for some more liminal chills whilst waiting around for a (potential) sequel should definitely seek out Channel Zero’s No-End House. After finishing that, they may as well give the rest of the show a try, especially the Maria Sten-fronted final season, The Dream Door, which has Backrooms influences of its own.
