If you’re missing Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay” and you’re a Stephen King fan, you can fill the void with “Haven.” This show followed FBI agent Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) as she was sent to the small town of Haven, Maine, in pursuit of an ex-convict. Once she’s there, weird occurrences take place — like the reemergence of a paranormal affliction referred to as “The Troubles” — and she finds that she might not be a stranger to the town after all.
The is a procedural crime drama with a supernatural twist, much like the uber-bingeable “Fringe” or even “The X-Files,” and it’s loosely adapted from King’s novella “The Colorado Kid.” While there was an initial investigation in a small Maine town, it wasn’t conducted by an FBI agent, and the emphasis on the supernatural wasn’t as pronounced. However, King is known for the supernatural elements in many of his novels, and this was likely why it was included in the show and why fans enjoyed the series.
“Haven” originally aired on the Syfy Channel from 2010 to 2015 (78 episodes across five seasons), which are all currently streaming on Peacock, Prime Video, The Roku Channel, and Pluto TV. Unfortunately, the latter two are the only two places you can stream it without a hassle. You need a subscription to watch on Peacock and Prime Video, and, even then, Prime doesn’t offer all seasons — you need MovieSphere+ to watch its first season there.
How Haven faired on the air
“Haven” was loved by fans, but, initially, not so much by critics, who gave the series a 35% on Rotten Tomatoes, while fans were clearly tuning in every week since it sits at 80% for them. Critics eventually came around with the later seasons, though, with Noel Murray at <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/27/17622200/castle-rock-haven-steven-king-netflix-weekend-streaming-recommendation” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>The Verge saying: “The first season of ‘Haven’ was a little rocky, but by season 3, the writing staff had figured out the show’s proper tone, which was generally closer to a playful ‘monster of the week’ ‘X-Files’ episode than something as dark and mind-bending as ‘Twin Peaks.'”
While Netflix might enjoy canceling TV shows when they’re receiving great reviews, including a sci-fi series from the creators of “Stranger Things,” Syfy doesn’t typically make a habit of doing that. Instead, Syfy cancelled “Haven” because it was taking the channel in a new direction, focusing on strict science-fiction projects like “The Expanse” and “12 Monkeys.”
