"This post contains spoilers for “Harper’s Island.”
The horror anthology model is pretty commonplace in our current landscape, its core appeal lying in shifting tones and narrative motivations, along with a ton of variety to offer. Anthologies are not a brand-new phenomenon, as their enduring popularity can be traced back to shows like “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” or Rod Serling’s “Twilight Zone” series, proving that even the earliest days of network television held space for such a format — on the condition that the show could sustain good ratings. When “Harper’s Island” premiered on CBS in April 2009, it was marketed as a horror/slasher series that would go on to follow the anthology format in the second season, replete with new characters and a fresh setting. Unfortunately, these plans did not come to pass, as the 13-part limited event received dwindling ratings as the episodes progressed — with a season-wide average of 4.8 million — leading to its eventual cancellation…"
Harper’s Island was an early attempt at a horror miniseries. I watched it sometime in the last five years and it was utterly forgettable. Unfortunately, IICR, it employed too many horror clichés and whodunit tropes to stand out in a positive light, but at the time it aired, it was kind of the only option. Slasher TV shows hadn’t really been done, and this was a pioneer in that aspect. It tried, and it’s worth a watch if you’re a hardcore slasher horror fan, but don’t expect anything special.