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Michael Block
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Michael Block is a 14 time GLAM Award nominated writer, producer, and host of the podcast Block Talk. Throughout his time in the entertainment industry, he has worked on and off Broadway as a stage manager, written several produced plays, critiqued hundreds of theatrical performances, drag and cabaret shows, and has produced events randing from drag competitoons to variety concerts!
On Block Talk, he interviews nightlife personalities, covers the wide world of entertainment through features, ranking episodes, and recaps ALL of Drag Race, as well as Dragula and Survivor. He has interviewed hundreds of RuGirls that span the globe at DragCon NYC, DragCon LA, and DragCon UK.
In his free time, he makes one-of-a-kind jewelry and gift baskets with his mom. He is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.
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The collaboration between Netflix and Mike Flanagan has been an extraordinary one. With hit after hit miniseries, audiences have been taken by his artistry. Four of his miniseries —The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher— were successful single-season runs. But the fifth, The Midnight Club, was not meant to be a one-season series. With an 85% Rotten Tomatoes rating, The Midnight Club never truly earned the chance to soar.
Set in a hospice, the series followed eight terminally ill young adults who meet up each night to tell scary stories. As each story is shared, they are depicted on-screen. Based on Christopher Pike’s book series, The Midnight Club was filled with a world of potential with a plethora of material to pull from, but when the show’s creator inked a deal with Amazon, The Midnight Club was sadly a casualty of circumstance. Flanagan even had an outline for what the second season was meant to be, making the cancellation blow even harder to take.
'The Midnight Club' Was All About Storytelling
Christopher Pike was notorious for writing dozens of young adult thrillers and horror stories during the '80s and '90s. With his 1994 novel, The Midnight Club, serving as the basis for the Netflix series, Mike Flanagan pulled from several of Pike's other works to craft his Netflix series. The time stays in 1994, but changes the location from the Rotterdam Home to the Brightcliffe Home Hospice Care for Teenagers outside of Seattle, where the terminally ill teenagers meet each midnight to tell each other scary stories. But their bond goes deeper. They have made a pact that whoever succumbs to their disease first is responsible for contacting others from beyond the grave.
But The Midnight Club goes beyond that. Flanagan's extraordinary storytelling ability is in full force as he doesn't just maintain the primary storyline; he effortlessly integrates the haunts of Brightcliffe while infusing the stories the teens tell into the action. The Midnight Club is all about the story within the story. Having a cast full of actors who are strong storytellers as well is exceptionally important. Like a grimmer version of campfire stories, each meeting is captivating, giving us a reason to await each midnight. The Midnight Club isn't just about scary stories. They build the characters, but the world they inhabit is filled with lore. Furthermore, with Ilonka (Iman Benson) serving as our entry point into this world as the new girl, Flanagan uses her to explore the labyrinth that is Brightcliffe and the mysteries and secrets that live within. It has a very eerie and dark history. If you love cults, you're in luck!
Like Ryan Murphy and his series, Flanagan has a roster of actors who have proven essential and a comfort for viewers. But for this show, he relies on new players to construct the series' brilliance. By far, the star of the ensemble is Ruth Codd as Anya. That said, some of Flanagan's mainstays are present in recurring roles, including Henry Thomas and Zach Gilford. And then, there is Flanagan's greatest asset and horror muse, Samantha Sloyan, who continues to prove she can play an antagonist better than anyone.
'The Midnight Club' Gave Hope To the Hopeless
Though the premise of the series sounds grim, there's actually a lot of hope within The Midnight Club. Though morality and mortality are at the forefront of the story, The Midnight Club also explores themes of love and friendship. Rather than willingly live out their days, waiting to pass, they find something to look forward to each night. As Ilonka puts it in the first episode, "We're the authors of our own stories." That statement is truly the heart of The Midnight Club. It's a story about individuals focusing on living, rather than fighting. If that's not a reason to champion a horror mystery series, I'm not sure what else is.
For those of us who truly loved the series and found the positive, it's time to address those who did not. Perhaps the most shocking part about the Rotten Tomatoes score is the audience reception. Currently standing at 55% on the Popcornmeter, The Midnight Club received better critical reception than audience reception. Though that is universally the trend with the four other Flanagan Netflix shows, The Midnight Club sits significantly lower than the other shows. Perhaps it is because it is comparatively toned down. When you come to a Flanagan series, you want true screams and terror. The Midnight Club has that, but sanitized as if it is a step above Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark? Not that either is bad, they're just geared toward a specific audience
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Posts 1 By Elisa Guimarães Aug 5, 2025Where 'The Midnight Club' Season 2 Would Have Gone
Annarah Cymon as Sandra with an ominous message saying 'Don't' in bedsheets on 'The Midnight Club.'Image via Netflix
There was great excitement in seeing Flanagan explore a multi-season series as a showrunner for the first time on Netflix. Unfortunately, the business of show prevented us from more. Thankfully, Flanagan offered fans a gift with a Tumblr post revealing where The Midnight Club would go next. He started his post expressing his disappointment before diving deep into his vision. Flanagan went character by character, explaining their path into the potential season, including Anya, who, spoiler alert, was the first of The Midnight Club to die. Thankfully, using Pike's book Remember Me would have brought her back into the fray. Furthermore, like Sandra (Annarah Cymone), who left Brightcliffe after her cancer regressed, Spencer (Chris Sumpter) would have had an out as advancements in HIV treatment would have played into the story.
Of course, the big mysteries, like Dr. Stanton's (Heather Langenkamp) tattoo and bald head, would be revealed as she was the daughter of the original Paragon cult leader. Oh, and she was ironically in chemotherapy herself. And, perhaps the biggest mystery, the Living Shadow is not actually death but rather the unknown, and a concept pulled right from the books. It's quite deep, but Flanagan was ready to bring it all to fruition. The lengthy Tumblr post is truly heartbreaking because the series was just getting started. There was so much more room to explore. "I loved making this show, and I am so proud of the cast and crew," Flanagan wrote. "But for now, we'll put the fire out, and leave the library dark and quiet."
The Midnight Club is available to stream on Netflix.
8
10
The Midnight Club
Like Horror Mystery Drama Release Date 2022 - 2022-00-00 Network Netflix Showrunner Mike Flanagan Directors Mike Flanagan Writers Mike Flanagan, Leah Fong, Jamie FlanaganCast
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Samantha Sloyan
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Zach Gilford
At a manor with a mysterious history, eight members of the Midnight Club meet each night at midnight to tell sinister stories -- and to look for signs of the supernatural from the beyond.
Genres Horror, Mystery, Drama Powered by
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Mike Flanagan
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