Little Marvin’s horror anthology Them is two shows under one title, and only one of them earns its keep. The first season, Them: Covenant, premiered on Prime Video on April 9, 2021. The second, Them: The Scare, arrived on April 25, 2024. Across 18 episodes, the series explores terror in America through self-contained stories set in the same universe, with Deborah Ayorinde leading each season as a different character.
Trailer, via Prime Video.
The 1953 House in East Compton
Them: Covenant is set in 1953 and follows a Black family who move from North Carolina to an all-white neighborhood in East Compton during the Second Great Migration. Their new home starts out idyllic, then turns, by degrees, into an epicenter of evil forces — some mundane, some otherworldly. Ayorinde stars alongside Ashley Thomas, Alison Pill and Ryan Kwanten.
The season’s performances and visuals drew praise. Its handling of the subject matter did not. Some critics called it “exploitative” and “unnecessarily graphic,” and the season polarized both critics and audiences. That split is the whole story of Covenant: real craft, no restraint, using racial terror as atmosphere until the atmosphere becomes the point.
Dawn Reeve and the 1991 Case
Them: The Scare moves to 1991 and centers on Detective Dawn Reeve, assigned a murder so gruesome it leaves hardened detectives shaken. As Dawn investigates, a malevolent force inflicts itself on her and her family. Ayorinde returns, joined by Pam Grier as Athena, Luke James as Edmund Gaines, Joshua J. Williams as Kel Reeve and Jeremy Bobb as Detective Ronald McKinney.
Reviews for the second season were highly positive, with better reception for how it handled its themes and horror elements. The difference is discipline. The Scare trusts its cast and its period instead of piling on.
A Two-Season Run
| Season | Subtitle | Premiered | Setting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Covenant | April 9, 2021 | 1953, East Compton |
| 2 | The Scare | April 25, 2024 | 1991 |
The casting built out over time. Ayorinde and Ashley Thomas were set as leads on July 27, 2019. Shahadi Wright Joseph, Alison Pill, Ryan Kwanten, Melody Hurd, Javier Botet and Percy Hynes White joined the main cast that October, with Derek Phillips recurring. In December 2019, Brooke Smith, Anika Noni Rose, P.J. Byrne, Malcolm Mays, Jeremiah Birkett and Sophie Guest joined in recurring roles. Wayne Knight, Carlito Olivero, Charles Brice and Iman Shumpert recur in season two.
What Actually Matters Here
Ranked by what holds up, the seasons land like this:
- Them: The Scare — the version of this show worth defending.
- Them: Covenant — the version that argues against itself.
The anthology format is the smart call. It let Little Marvin swap eras and leads and keep the premise alive after a first season that burned good will. The problem is that the premise is thin. “Terror in America” is a thesis, not a story, and Covenant shows how fast it curdles into shock.
The Scare is the reason to watch. Grier and James give the season a center the first one never had, and the 1991 setting gives the horror somewhere to live. If a third season comes, the lesson is already written: keep the cast, keep the era, drop the excess.
Them scores 5.7 out of 10 on Metacritic.
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