Just Beyond has eight standalone episodes, all with different plots and casts, and will give its viewers a taste of the works of author R.L. Stine when it arrives on Disney Plus well before Halloween as part of the channel's Hallowstream.
Inspired by the Goosebumps and Fear Street’s author’s stories for young adults, we meet a number of colourful characters forced to undertake a journey of self-discovery in supernatural worlds. Starring E.T.'s Henry Thomas and a whole host of talented young actors, the series is guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
Here's all we know so far about Just Beyond on Disney+...
'Just Beyond' release date
As a part of 'Hallowstream' on Disney+ Just Beyond premieres on Wednesday Oct. 13 2021 with all 8 stories ready to watch on that day, so well in time for Halloween.
Is there a 'Just Beyond' trailer?
Yes there is! An official trailer for Just Beyond has just been released by Disney+. "JUST BEYOND THE WORLD WE KNOW,' it tells us. 'THERE IS ANOTHER!' . So this has creeped us out just a little. Take a look below...
'Just Beyond' — a guide to the cast and plots behind each story
Here's our rundown of all eight episodes of Just Beyond...
Episode 1: Leave Them Kids Alone
When 14-year-old activist Veronica Vanderhall (played by Mckenna Grace) is suspended from her school her parents send her to Miss Genevieve’s School for Difficult Girls, which is lauded for rehabilitating "problem children". Miss Genevieve (Nasim Pedrad) is certainly perfect and her students have impeccable manners (and hairdos!). However, Veronica soon realises that things are not as they seem and this veneer of perfection hides a dark secret. Veronica must hatch a plan to help the girls regain their voices.
Episode 2: Parents Are From Mars, Kids Are From Venus
Best friends Jack (Gabriel Bateman) and Ronald (Arjun Athalye) have always found their parents weird but when they stumble into the adults’ game night they are stunned by what they see. Their parents are dressed in ornate robes, chanting and levitating objects. Looking for answers the two 14-year-olds turn to the owner of a local curiosities shop, who suspects their parents are aliens. When their families join together for a trip to a remote lake house, Jake and Ronald fear for their lives.
Episode 3: Which Witch
As the only witch at her high school, Fiona (Rachel Marsh) has learnt how to blend in. Things are going well and her crush asks her to the homecoming dance but then Fiona hears her cousin Luna (Jy Prishkulnik) is coming over from England. Unlike Fiona, Luna is proud to be a witch and can’t wait to show off her skills. Will Fiona continue to hide or release her inner witch?
Episode 4: My Monster
After her parents’ divorce Olivia (Megan Stott) is feeling anxious and overwhelmed. It doesn’t help that her new house — her mother’s childhood home — is seriously creepy. Soon, her fears are realised when she comes face to face with a masked, hulking humanoid who then vanishes. Olivia and her neighbour Graham (Elisha Henig) team up to solve the mystery of the masked monster.
Episode 5: Unfiltered
Lily Renton (Izabela Vidovic) is the star of her school’s Quiz Bowl Team but she longs to be like the pretty celebrities and popular schoolmates she admires. She wishes, just once, someone would think of her as beautiful rather than smart. Her wish comes true when a substitute teacher introduces her to an invite-only beauty app that magically transforms her appearance. However, there are consequences so Lily must decide what’s really important in life.
Episode 6: We've Got Spirits, Yes We Do
14-year-old Ella (Lexi Underwood) is on a school theatre trip when she hears a spooky legend that the theatre is haunted and the dead thespians are looking to grab the living and force them to be a part of their acting troupe. When Ella is separated from the group, she finds herself trapped in the theatre after dark and in the middle of a ghostly drama.
Episode 7: Standing Up For Yourself
When 14-year-old Evan Burger (Henry Shepherd) arrives in idyllic Larkinville, the local bully Trevor Larkin (Logan Gray) immediately detects a new victim. Evan wears glasses, second hand clothes and has a prosthetic limp. But appearances can be deceiving and Trevor’s actions will change his life – and Larkinville – forever.
Episode 8: The Treehouse
After saving up all his money, Sam (Cedric Joe) has finally been able to buy his late dad’s favourite comic, a year after his death. The comic is in mint condition until the neighbourhood bully snatches it and throws it into a puddle. Sam’s devastated and hides out in the treehouse he and his father built but then lightning cracks a branch and he’s sent tumbling to the ground. Sam awakens in an alternate universe and is forced to make some excruciating choices.
All about 'Just Beyond' star Henry Thomas
Henry stars as Crazy Chris in Episode 2 of the series (see above), in which two teenagers fear their parents are aliens.
Henry first won our hearts as a child star, when he played Elliot in the classic 1982 movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. He went on to the play a young Norman Bates in Psycho IV: The Beginning in 1990 and Samuel in Legends of the Fall (1994). More recently he’s appeared in the TV series Betrayal (2013-2014), Sons of Liberty (2015) and Netflix horror The Haunting of Hill House (2018). He also played Henry Wingrave in the 2020 mini series The Haunting of Bly Manor, also on Netflix.
'Just Beyond' cast — who else is starring
Megan Stott from Little Fires Everywhere will play Olivia in episode four of the series. Modern Family’s Cedric Joe and Gilmore Girls actress Riki Lindhome also star elsewhere. You might also recognise Christine Ko (The Great Indoors), Malcolm Barrett (Timeless) and Izabela Vidovic (Wonder). Mckenna Grace stars in Young Sheldon.
More about author R. L. Stine
The author R. L. Stine is acting as co-executive producer on Just Beyond, which heavily references his famous tales. Stine, whose real name is Robert Lawrence, has been writing horror fiction for young adults for more than 35 years and is best known for his Goosebumps and Fear Street collections. He’s written hundreds of novels since writing his first, Blind Date, in 1986. Goosebumps was made into a TV series, which ran from 1995-1998, and became a film in 2015, with Jack Black playing a fictionalized version of the author. Robert even made a cameo in the movie and its sequel Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween.
"Back in the day, we had a Goosebumps HorrorLand attraction at Walt Disney World,’" says R.L. Stine. "It was one of the thrills of my life. Now I’m thrilled to be back with Disney for the TV series based on my graphic novels. Writing Just Beyond for BOOM! Studios has been a joy from the beginning, and I’m so happy to have the wonderful screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith bring the series to life on Disney+. How lucky can I be?"
All about 'Just Beyond' writer Seth Grahame-Smith
Seth Grahame-Smith was the screenwriter on Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, The Saint and The Lego Batman Movie. He’s also the author of the bestselling novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
"I grew up watching Twilight Zone reruns and the original Amazing Stories with my parents,” says Grahame-Smith. "I’ve always wanted to make a genre anthology series that families could enjoy together, and do it in a way that delivered for kids and adults alike. R.L. Stine has been a part of millions of childhoods, and Disney+ has already proven itself as a place that knows how to make high-quality shows for the whole family. I couldn’t be more excited to be working with both of them."
