The Horror of Dolores Roach

The Horror of Dolores Roach is an American dark comedy horror television series, starring Justina Machado in the title role. It is based on the one-woman off-Broadway play Empanada Loca and the podcast of the same name, created by Aaron Mark. The series was released on Prime Video on July 7, 2023. In November 2023, the series was canceled after one season.

Synopsis
Dolores Roach is released after an unjust 16-year prison sentence, and she returns to a now-gentrified Washington Heights neighborhood. She reunites with an old stoner friend, Luis, who lets her live and work as a masseuse in the basement under his empanada shop. When the promise of her newfound stability is threatened, she must go to extremes to survive.

Cast

 * Justina Machado as Dolores Roach, a recently released convict who spent sixteen years behind bars for possession of marijuana. Setting up a small massage parlor to support herself, she eventually begins killing her clients. Her character is partially inspired by Sweeney Todd.
 * Alejandro Hernandez as Luis Batista, a cook and owner of Empanada Loca, a small restaurant above Dolores' parlor. He is gradually revealed to have cannibalistic tendencies and helps Dolores (whom he is smitten with) cover up her murders by turning her victims' remains into food. His character is partially inspired by Mrs. Lovett.
 * Kita Updike as Nellie Morris, a cashier and server at Empanada Loca.
 * K. Todd Freeman as Jeremiah, a driver for a meat company that previously supplied Luis' restaurant. He is one of the first to suspect that something is not right with Empanada Loca.
 * Marc Maron as Gideon Pearlman, the abusive and racist landlord who owns the building where Empanada Loca is situated. He becomes Dolores' first victim.
 * Ilan Eskenazi as Jonah Pearlman, Gideon's son and business associate. Dolores kills him after he finds his father's corpse in the restaurant's meat locker.
 * Judy Reyes as Marcie, a drug dealer who knew Dolores before she went to prison and winds up becoming one of her victims. Her character is partially inspired by Adolfo Pirelli.
 * Jessica Pimentel as Flora Frias, a playwright who turns a fictionalized account of Dolores' crimes into her latest work.
 * Jean Yoon as Joy, Dolores' old neighbor who helps her set up the parlor.
 * Jeffery Self as Caleb Sweetzer, the showrunner of Flora's play.
 * Cyndi Lauper as Ruthie, a reformed convict and amateur private investigator who uncovers Dolores and Luis' murders and is subsequently killed by Dolores.
 * Kate Beahan as Georgina Bellyard
 * Maureen Cassidy as Tabitha, a disabled convict and Dolores' former cellmate who taught her how to kill.

Development
On May 6, 2020, it was reported that Blumhouse Television was adapting The Horror of Dolores Roach, a Gimlet Media podcast, as a drama series in development for Amazon Studios. Dara Resnik is the showrunner, working alongside Aaron Mark, creator of the podcast, who would be adapting the series from his own script. The podcast is based on Mark's one-woman off-Broadway play Empanada Loca, starring Daphne Rubin-Vega, which Mark subsequently adapted into a podcast, also starring Rubin-Vega.

Amazon Studios gave a pilot order for the series in June 2021, and on February 3, 2022, it was reported that Amazon had given it a series order.

Production
The 8-episode series is executive produced by Mark, Resnik, Rubin-Vega, Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold, Justin McGoldrick, Dawn Ostroff, Mimi O'Donnell, Gloria Calderón Kellett, and Roxann Dawson. Dawson directed the pilot episode, which was written by Mark.

On February 3, 2022, it was reported that the series would star Justina Machado, Alejandro Hernandez, Kita Updike, and K. Todd Freeman. On June 29, 2022, it was announced that Marc Maron, Jean Yoon, Judy Reyes, and Jeffery Self had joined the cast in recurring roles. On August 1, 2022, it was reported that Cyndi Lauper had joined the cast in a recurring guest role.

On November 21, 2023, it was reported that the series was canceled after one season.

Release
The first three episodes premiered on June 15, 2023, at the Tribeca Film Festival as part of its Festival TV lineup. The series was released on Prime Video on July 7, 2023.

Reception
The series received generally positive reviews, with Machado's performance being widely praised.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of the show garnered a 79% score from critics, a "positive" score, with the critic's consensus being "The Horror of Dolores Roach bites off more than it could chew with the delicate balance between horror and humor, but Justina Machado's commitment to the zany premise makes for a savory snack of a series."

Joel Golby, writing for The Guardian, called it a "hugely fun drama" and praised the tone and originality of the series. The A.V. Club also gave a positive review, commenting: "The right combo of love, betrayal, murder, and cannibalism gets emulsified with commentary on mass incarceration, gentrification, and classism. It’s a chaotic task to juggle all of that over the course of eight under-30-minute episodes. Yet The Horror Of Dolores Roach pulls it off, presenting a darkly comedic and horrifying character study in the process." Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter praised Machado and Hernandez' performance, but criticized what she perceived as the missed potential of the show. Cristina Escobar of rogerebert.com commented "A playful show about a serial killer, "The Horror of Dolores Roach" gets its frights by not taking itself too seriously." Entertainment Weekly gave the show a score of B+ on a scale from A to F.

Conversely, Jack Seale, also writing for The Guardian, gave a negative review, calling the series a "sloppy mess" while praising Machado's performance. Variety also gave a negative review, writing "Advertised as a horror comedy, “The Horror of Dolores Roach” effectively earns neither scares nor laughs." Brian Lowry, writing for CNN, gave a negative review, writing that the show had a "killer concept" but failed to live up to the concept.