Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen Deals With Marijuana In A Way I Never See In TV Shows

Mild spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched the excellent horror series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen via Netflix subscription, so be warned!

For all that I was anticipating Haley Z. Boston’s Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen to be a good time, I did not expect to immediately cement it into my Top 10 of 2026. Top 10 what? I’m not even sure yet, but it deserves a spot regardless. The pacing, the acting, the storytelling, and the direction are all top-notch, and it’s the rare series that feels perfectly suited to its episode count. And speaking of rarities, the series also stands out for the way marijuana is incorporated into Rachel’s story.

Usually when weed enters into a scripted plot, it’s for comedic purposes, as evidenced by everything from That ‘70s Show and Friday to Family Guy’s most recent season premiere and the upcoming Cheech and Chong’s Last Movie. When not played for laughs, then weed is most often demonized through stories about organized crime and addiction. And I get it. Getting high makes you laugh, and in certain circumstances, too much of it can be detrimental. But I’m applauding Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen for intentionally not going in either of those directions.

Marijuana Is Used In Something Very Bad... As A Mood Stabilizer More Than Anything

At various points throughout Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, Camila Morrone's Rachel makes reference to her anxiety and mental health struggles. Not only in regards to the horrific events taking place ahead of her and Nicky's wedding date, but even stemming back to her being overly frazzled at the time of their airport meeting. (Which sadly wasn't the fate-setting meet-cute that Rachel was led to believe.) Such issues help define the character, but aren't exploited or used as a crutch.

To that same end, rather than taking the stereotypical shortcut of Rachel stymying her imbalances with any number of prescription pills, with little brown bottles filling up her purse and bathroom cabinet, she will almost always step over to her bedroom window to take a few puffs of a joint before putting it out and going on about her business with a more focused mindset. At least that's how it comes across to me.

To note, I'm not criticizing the use of prescription meds there, but rather the way such things can be portrayed in media, and are often the only way that characters are shown treating mental health conditions. Marijuana (among other substances with location-specific illicitness) is almost never depicted with sincerity as being helpful to users without leaning into the recreational and silly side of being stoned. Considering there's an entire medical marijuana industry where the crux is THC's positive effects on certain individuals' moods and emotional releases, it's kind of wild to me that more movies and TV shows haven't completely normalized this yet.

I mean, I get why shows like Reba and Bluey aren't going to bat for weed's beneficial properties elsewhere on the 2026 TV schedule, and that it can still be a controversial topic. But I'm here for Haley Z Boston & Co. making it happen, even if that somehow wasn't their direct intention.

Rachel Being A Behavioral Psychologist Makes It Even More Meaningful

Surely, a behavioral psychologist would have plenty of ways to go about figuring out their own mental patterns and what does/doesn't help. And at this point if Rachel has landed on weed as her med of choice, it's probably because it's what does the trick. She does address at one point that it indeed makes her more paranoid, but the fact that she made it through that whole paranoia-inducing weekend without hour-long panic attacks makes me think being paranoid isn't among her top-tier problems.

To be sure, I know that Something Very Bad... doesn't exclusively depict scenes where weed is used innocuously, with Rachel toking up with Nellie after drinking a bit. But even then, she never overdoes it, and at no point in the show is she completely toasted with red slits for eyes and some gnarly munchie cravings. So even if smoking isn't about fixing up her mental state, this show still stands out for spotlighting moderation.

Also, I know TV scenes exist, especially in medical dramas, where characters will use marijuana for cancer treatments on top of brain-related issues. But those tend to be one-offs or plot-related, while Rachel smokes part of a joint in seemingly every episode of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, except for maybe one. That's the kind of normalizing that may lead to something good happening.

Unless the main takeaway from this show is that people start engaging in more bloodline curses. That wouldn't be cool, man. Not cool at all. Not like all these cool upcoming horror tv shows to anticipate now that Rachel's journey is done, at least one of them.