Netflix’s ‘The Strays’ Is Not the Will Ferrell Comedy—It’s Something Much Darker

The Strays, which began streaming on Netflix today, does not star Will Ferrell. It is also not an R-rated comedy, and it features exactly zero talking dogs making jokes about their genitals. If you’re looking for that movie, then you’re looking for Strays, which is an upcoming Will Ferrell comedy that will release in theaters this summer. The Strays, on the other hand, couldn’t be more different—but it’s absolutely worth your time.

Written and directed by Nathaniel Martello-White, The Strays is an unsettling and compelling British horror-thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The story follows a a light-skinned Black women who runs away from her husband and two children in order to start what she believes is a better life. But, as always, the past comes back to haunt her. It’s a lean, smart, and fascinating movie, and you won’t be able to tear your eyes from the screen.

It’s unfortunate that The Strays practically shares a name with Strays, a major studio comedy that recently launched its marketing campaign. Again, Netflix’s The Strays is pretty much the opposite of the R-rated comedy Strays, which stars the voices of Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx as stray dogs who scheme to get revenge on their former, negligent owner. Strays is the movie you want if you’re looking for dogs with animated mouths dropping f-bombs. The Strays is more of a tense slow-build, with some socio-political commentary on the side.

Here’s what to know about The Strays vs. Strays, including how to watch The Strays on Netflix.

The Strays Netflix release date:

The British horror-thriller movie The Strays began streaming on Netflix on Wednesday, February 22—aka today.

What is the Netflix movie The Strays about?

Ashley Madekwe stars as Neve, a light-skinned Black women who abandons her lower-class life with her abusive husband and two darker-skinned Black children. Though she never hides her race, she essentially begins to “pass” as an upperclass white woman in her new life, and seems uncomfortable with Black culture. She never tells her white husband and their two mixed children about her former family… until her two children from her past life return to haunt her. These siblings, Carl and Dione, are determined to get their mother back by any means necessary.

Will the Will Ferrell movie Strays be on Netflix?

No, sorry. The R-rated Will Ferrell comedy Strays will be released only in theaters on June 9, 2023, and therefore will not be streaming on Netflix any time soon. That said, Strays may be on Netflix eventually, albeit not for another 4 years. A deal between Universal and Netflix gives the streaming service access to live-action films from Universal Filmed Entertainment Group about four years after they open in theaters. In the case of Strays, that means June 2027.

That’s a long time to wait, so in the meantime, you might as well watch the horror movie The Strays on Netflix. There aren’t any talking dogs, but we’d argue that’s a bonus.