‘The Kettering Incident’: It’s Like ‘Stranger Things’ For Grown-Ups, Coming Soon To Amazon Prime


Remember when you watched Twilight and wished there was a grown up version, and along came True Blood? Well, it appears the same thing has happened with Netflix’s hit series, Stranger Things. An Australian series, The Kettering Incident, will be coming to Amazon Prime next month and it just may fill that Stranger Things void.

The Kettering Incident was released on Australia’s Showcase on July 4, more than a week prior to Netflix releasing Stranger Things. The Australian series is inspired by a possible UFO sighting in the ’70s in the Kettering forest in the remote Tasmania landscape.

The official synopsis for The Kettering Incident is below.

“Anna Macy left Kettering when she was just 14, shortly after her best friend, Gillian Baxter mysteriously disappeared. The two girls had been playing in the forbidden forests outside Kettering when they saw strange lights in the sky. Eight hours later, Anna was found alone, terrified and covered in blood.”

“15 years on, Anna returns to find the town struggling to survive. The forests have been marked for logging and the community is being torn apart by passionate but violent clashes between environmentalists and the local loggers.”

“Time might have passed but Anna’s reappearance causes a stir. Theories and rumors persist about what really happened to the girls that night – from Anna killing Gillian to alien abduction. Then another girl suddenly disappears. Has she run away or has something more sinister happened? If so, by whom or what, and why? Is it linked to Gillian’s disappearance all those years ago?”

While Stranger Things and The Kettering Incident, at first seem somewhat different, they are actually remarkably similar. Firstly, The Kettering Incident starts with two girls pedaling through the forest on their bikes when they see strange lights. Gillian decides to run off and investigate, leaving Anna behind. Ultimately, one girl survives and the other is never found again, leaving Anna to find out what happened to Gillian, a central theme familiar to fans of Stranger Things.

[Image via Netflix]
Besides the very similar start, both The Kettering Incident and Stranger Things delves into the world of the paranormal, with a strong emphasis on science fiction. While Stranger Things doesn’t deal directly with aliens like The Kettering Incident does (which doesn’t mean the incident actually involved aliens), both shows embrace the mystery of the unknown.

Throughout the eerie series, there is constant problems with the power supply and talk of the strange lights that appear in the Kettering forest. These lights may or may not be of alien origin, but to the small town, it is enough to draw the UFO fanatics and create a niche market. Regardless, fans of Stranger Things will identify with the fact that when the lights flicker, you’d better be careful.

Gillian runs towards the brights lights in Showcase’s ‘The Kettering Incident’ [Image via Foxtel]
Also expect to come across a mute victim. In Stranger Things, it was Terry Ives, the mother of Eleven. In The Kettering Incident, it is the mother of Anna Macy.

There is even a version of the Upside Down in The Kettering Incident. The Stranger Things version of the Upside Down is a dark place that Eleven has to access using a sensory deprivation tank. In The Kettering Incident, there is a room very similar in feel to what Eleven perceives the Upside Down to be. However, this version of the Upside Down is not a place of the mind, but a physical room that is as dark and devoid as Eleven’s interpretation of the Upside Down in Stranger Things. It also holds a very big secret that is revealed at the Season 1 finale of The Kettering Incident.

Eleven inside the Upside Down in Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ [Image via Netflix]
According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Kettering Incident has been picked up for distribution in the U.S. on Amazon Prime. It will premiere on September 30 and run for eight episodes — once again, just like Stranger Things. As yet, there is no confirmation of a second series, although Season 2 seems likely considering the show was one of the highest rating original dramas to premiere on Australia’s Foxtel this year.

Are you looking forward to comparing The Kettering Incident with Stranger Things? Let us know by commenting below.

Season 1 of Stranger Things is currently available on Netflix. The synopsis for the show is below.

“A love letter to the supernatural classics of the ’80s, Stranger Things is the story of a young boy who vanishes into thin air. As friends, family and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl.”

Stranger Things stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, Cara Buono, Charlie Heaton, and Matthew Modine.

[Image via Foxtel]

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