The Boroughs

“In a seemingly picturesque retirement community, a group of unlikely heroes must band together to stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don’t have—time.”

Netflix premiered a new streaming series in May. The Boroughs,a science fiction story produced by the creators of Stranger Things, is set in a retirement community in the New Mexico desert. The series features many 1980s and 1990s film and television stars, including Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard and Alfred Molina. Netflix recently announced the show was cancelled after its eight-episode run, but it is still available on the streaming service. The series offers a number of perspectives on aging. At the risk of a few spoilers, what does the Boroughs have to say about growing older?

The series begins with a widower, Sam Cooper, travelling with his daughter and her family to his new home in The Boroughs. Sam is grieving the loss of his wife, and has reluctantly agreed to try a new home in a community of people “his own age.” The Boroughs offers many amenities, including skilled-care services and memory care. Sam meets the neighbors, checks out his new golf cart and reluctantly agrees to give it a try.

As soon as he moves in, Sam realizes that things are not what they seem. A resident with dementia breaks into his home. His next-door neighbor dies mysteriously. Sam and other residents discover an alien presence in the community, and the secret plot of the owners of The Boroughs to use this alien force to maintain their youth.

The Boroughs touches on many of the fears and concerns about growing older. Dementia robs residents of their memories and their ability to communicate. The senior community, despite its many amenities and promise of a carefree lifestyle, is isolated from the larger world. Warnings from individuals about the dangers are ignored. Even the villains in the story fear aging and the loss of youth and will go to great lengths to avoid it.

Dementia in the series is the result of an alien being drawing its life force from the brains of its victims. It is an apt analogy for those who experience their loved ones’ slow retreat, and the gradual loss of memory and cognitive function. Sam and his neighbors’ discovery of the secret horror of the Boroughs, and their efforts to stop it, reflects the massive investment and research into finding a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. The National Institutes of Health has more than 70 active clinical trials for drugs that treat the symptoms and conditions of Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Other studies show promising results in behavioral and lifestyle interventions that help reduce dementia risk and help promote memory and cognitive function. Hearing aids, multivitamins, physical activity and music therapy have shown promising outcomes in addressing dementia. Research and sharing of best practices may not make for dramatic television, but they show promise in reducing the impact of cognitive decline in older adults.

Del Webb opened the first Senior Community in Sun City Arizona in 1960. It helped establish the concept of a master-planned retirement community catering to the needs of older adults. According to the Private Communities Registry (PCR)  there are more than 2,000 “55+ Lifestyle Communities” in the US. There are a variety of developers, but most communities limit residents by age (55 and older is most common), focus on amenities that promote an active lifestyle, and are often self-contained, with their own shopping centers, health facilities, recreation, clubs and parks. The Villages in Central Florida is one of the largest of these communities, spanning 20,000 acres in three counties and more than 100 miles of “golf cart legal” streets.

More traditional providers of aging services also have developed lifestyle or life plan communities. These “continuing care retirement communities” (CCRCs) incorporate individual houses along with apartments as part of their independent-living programs. Unlike the senior communities noted above, these developments include assisted living, skilled nursing care and even hospice care for residents. Some CCRCs were established by faith-based organizations or benevolent societies, often as a means of providing for the retirement of their clergy or faculty, or to offer care for the widows or orphans of their members. Many CCRCs are non-profit organizations that may commit to a lifetime of care, even if a resident is no longer able to cover the costs. Otterbein Senior Life,  Kendal at Oberlin and Masonic Communities in Medina, Springfield and Waterville are examples of these long-term supportive care communities in Ohio.

A growing number of CCRCs are operated by for-profit companies or real estate investment trusts (REITs). Ohio-based Welltower, Ventas and Brookdale are the largest operators, with more than 600,000 units under management. These entities may not include charity care as part of their business model, although some do. Most for-profit CCRCs do not accept Medicaid for skilled-care services.

Even if they do not live in a lifestyle center, most Americans living with a dementia diagnosis are living in the community—and not in a memory care setting or assisted living. In a study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychology, it is estimated that more than one-quarter of older adults with a dementia diagnosis live alone in the community. Initiatives like Dementia Friends address this population through efforts to raise awareness, reduce stigma and develop community supports for adults living with cognitive impairment. Programs administered through the Older Americans Act, including home-delivered meals, attendant care and friendly-visiting services also help make it easier for this population to remain safe and comfortable in a community setting.

Sam and other characters discover the truth about the aliens hidden in the Boroughs, but they struggle finding someone who will believe them. They discover that the security force is there less to protect them than to monitor and isolate them from others finding the truth. Their efforts to find and tell the truth are a metaphor for Social Isolation. Sam’s loss of his wife contributes to his sense of loneliness. The setting of the Boroughs, a community in the desert with little access to the outside world or current events, amplifies the characters’ sense that they are alone. Social isolation can be the result of the “death of a partner, separation from family and friends, retirement, loss of mobility or lack of transportation.” (One of the challenges faced by the Boroughs’ characters in their plans to escape is finding a getaway car.) The sense of isolation is not inevitable, but people who experience sudden changes in their lives are more at risk. Research links social isolation with higher physical and mental health risks, including high blood pressure, depression, obesity and heart disease. Chronic loneliness and isolation may activate biological defenses, raising the risks of inflammation, or weakening the immune system.

One of the ways that older adults can reduce the risks of social isolation is finding a new sense of purpose. Taking up a new hobby, learning a new skill, volunteering or caregiving can improve health and wellbeing, and help create a greater sense of community. Benjamin Rose programs like Senior Companions, activities at the Rose Centers and Rose on the Go and our participation in the Larchmere Village Coalition are part of our efforts to help provide meaningful opportunities for older people to contribute to their communities, promote connections with others and enhance the quality of their lives.

It may not be as dramatic as an alien invasion, but The Boroughs captures the fears and concerns of people as the age. The series offers an opportunity to discuss those concerns, and also to explore options for how we want to live as we grow older.