If you haven’t seen Courteney Cox in Shining Vale, you’re basically missing out on the weirdest, darkest, and most surprisingly honest version of the actress we've ever seen. Forget the obsessive cleaning of Monica Geller. Toss out the ruthless ambition of Gale Weathers.
In this show, Cox plays Pat Phelps, a former "wild child" novelist who is now just... stuck. She's 17 years sober, her marriage to Terry (played by a wonderfully bumbling Greg Kinnear) is hanging by a thread after she had an affair with the handyman, and her teenage kids basically wish she’d disappear. So, naturally, the family does what all dysfunctional TV families do.
They move to a massive, creepy Victorian mansion in Connecticut.
The Weird Genius of Shining Vale
What makes the show work—and why its cancellation felt like such a gut punch to the few of us who were obsessed with it—is how it handles the "possession" trope. Pat starts seeing a 1950s housewife named Rosemary (Mira Sorvino) who may or may not be a ghost, a demon, or just a massive manifestation of Pat’s own depression.
Cox is phenomenal here. She leans into the "hot mess" energy of a woman who is genuinely terrified that she’s losing her mind. Or, worse, that she's actually being possessed by a spirit who wants her to be a "perfect" wife. The show basically asks: Is it a ghost, or is it just the crushing weight of being a middle-aged woman in a world that’s done with you?
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Honestly, the symptoms are kind of identical.
Why It Didn't Last on Starz
It’s no secret that the ratings were a bit of a disaster. By the end of Season 2, viewership on the linear Starz channel had dipped as low as 43,000 for some episodes. That’s essentially "nobody is watching this" territory in the world of big-budget cable.
Starz didn't just cancel the show in late 2023; they did that brutal thing streamers do now where they scrubbed it from their library entirely. It was a tax write-off move that left fans wondering if they’d ever see the Phelps family again. For a while, the series was just gone. Poof.
But then, something lucky happened.
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On New Year’s Day 2025, Shining Vale reappeared on Max (formerly HBO Max). It shot up to the number three spot on their charts almost immediately. It turns out that when you put a Courteney Cox horror-comedy on a platform people actually pay for, they'll watch it.
What You Should Know About the Ending
If you’re planning to binge it, you need to know that Season 2 ends on a massive cliffhanger. The co-creator, Jeff Astrof, has been very vocal about the fact that he has Season 3 partially written. He wants to finish the story. He’s "crushed" that it hasn't happened yet.
The plot was getting deeper into the lore of the "Devil Doctor" and the history of the house as a former asylum. The parallels between the female "hysteria" of the 1950s and modern mental health were finally coming to a head.
Is Courteney Cox Coming Back for Season 3?
Right now, it’s a big "maybe." While the show's success on Max has renewed hope, there hasn't been an official greenlight for a third season yet. Cox herself has said that Pat Phelps was one of the most layered characters she’s ever played, and it’s clear she has a lot of love for the project.
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She even mentioned in interviews that her own history with the Scream franchise helped her find the right "scream" for Pat, but this role required way more dramatic heavy lifting than just running from a guy in a mask.
If you want to support the show, the best thing you can do is go stream it on Max. Streaming numbers are the only currency that matters in 2026.
Next Steps for Fans and New Viewers
- Watch both seasons on Max: This is the only way to signal to the "powers that be" that there is still an audience for this specific blend of horror and satire.
- Don't skip Season 2: While the first season establishes the vibe, the second season (which features a brilliant Judith Light as Pat’s mother) is where the emotional stakes actually get real.
- Follow Jeff Astrof on social media: He’s the most reliable source for updates on whether a "Save Shining Vale" campaign might actually lead to a revival or a wrap-up movie.
The reality is that Shining Vale was probably a few years ahead of its time. It’s a show about the horror of the mundane, and thanks to its new life on streaming, it might finally be getting the flowers it deserved two years ago.