Archive 81

Archive 81 is an American supernatural horror television series developed by Rebecca Sonnenshine, who was also an executive producer for the show, along with Paul Harris Boardman and James Wan. The series was released on Netflix on January 14, 2022. Between January 9–30, the series was watched for 128.47 million hours globally according to Netflix Top 10s. However, in March 2022, the series was canceled after just one season.

The series is based on the podcast of the same name that began in 2016. Mamoudou Athie and Dina Shihabi star as Dan and Melody. Dan is hired by a mysterious company to restore video footage of grad student Melody's documentary project on an apartment building that burned down, but the job isn't what it may seem and suddenly, Dan finds himself in the middle of a dangerous mystery involving the disappearance of a director and a secret cult.

Main

 * Mamoudou Athie as Dan Turner
 * Dina Shihabi as Melody Pendras
 * Evan Jonigkeit as Samuel Spare / Alexander Davenport
 * Julia Chan as Anabelle Cho
 * Ariana Neal as Jess Lewis
 * Matt McGorry as Mark Higgins
 * Martin Donovan as Virgil Davenport

Guest

 * Charlie Hudson III as Steve Turner
 * Kate Eastman as Tamara Stefano
 * Eden Marryshow as John Smith
 * Georgina Haig as Iris Vos
 * Kristin Griffith as Cassandra Wall
 * Emy Coligado as Helen Yung

Development
On October 26, 2020, it was announced that Rebecca Sonnenshine would be the executive producer and showrunner of a horror television series for Netflix and Atomic Monster, with Paul Harris Boardman as writer and executive producer, and James Wan also executive producing. The series was inspired by the podcast of the same name. On January 5, 2022, it was reported that Michael Clear, Rebecca Thomas, and Antoine Douaihy were executive producing the series as well. Archive 81 was released on January 14, 2022, on Netflix. On March 24, 2022, Netflix canceled the series after one season.

Casting
Along with the announcement, Mamoudou Athie and Dina Shihabi were cast in the series. In November that same year, Martin Donovan, Matt McGorry, Julia Chan, Evan Jonigkeit, and Ariana Neal joined the cast.

Filming
Principal photography began on November 16, 2020, and concluded on March 29, 2021, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with Rebecca Thomas directing half of the series.

Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 85% approval rating with an average rating of 7.1/10, based on 34 critic reviews. The website's critics' consensus reads, "An intriguing blend of horror and noir, Archive 81 offers addictive supernatural thrills that are haunting in the best way." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 73 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

When the show debuted, it broke into the Nielsen streaming rankings at number seven, and it reached as high as number two in its second week.