{ "id": "ep739c4p3h", "slug": "when-the-streetlights-go-on", "title": "When the Streetlights Go On", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.horror_thriller_scifi_webseries", "label": "Genre web series: horror, thriller, science fiction, and mystery", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.horror_thriller_scifi_webseries" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020: Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" } ] } ], "excerpt": "When the Streetlights Go On (also When the Street Lights Go On) is a 2020 Quibi crime drama, 10 short episodes, set in 1995 Colfax, Illinois, about a double homicide investigated by teen Charlie Chambers; later on Roku Channel.", "snippet": "When the Streetlights Go On (also When the Street Lights Go On) is a 2020 Quibi crime drama, 10 short episodes, set in 1995 Colfax, Illinois, about a double homicide investigated by teen Charlie Chambers; later on Roku Channel.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.horror_thriller_scifi_webseries", "markdown": "# When the Streetlights Go On\n\n*When the Streetlights Go On* is an American crime drama series created and written by Eddie O'Keefe and Chris Hutton and directed by Rebecca Thomas, in which a 1995 double homicide in a small midwestern town is investigated through the eyes of the teenagers affected by it. It premiered on April 6, 2020 as one of the launch shows of the short-form streaming platform Quibi, running as ten episodes of just under 10 minutes each.[1](https://www.shockya.com/news/2020/10/18/new-york-comic-con-2020-interview-sophie-thatcher-talks-when-the-streetlights-go-on-exclusive/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/when_the_streetlights_go_on)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | 10 episodes of just under 10 minutes, released on Quibi from April 6 to April 15, 2020[1](https://www.shockya.com/news/2020/10/18/new-york-comic-con-2020-interview-sophie-thatcher-talks-when-the-streetlights-go-on-exclusive/) • [3](https://thetvdb.com/series/when-the-street-lights-go-on/allseasons/official) |\n| Setting | Colfax, Illinois, in the summer and fall of 1995[1](https://www.shockya.com/news/2020/10/18/new-york-comic-con-2020-interview-sophie-thatcher-talks-when-the-streetlights-go-on-exclusive/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/when_the_streetlights_go_on) |\n| Premise | The murders of high school student Chrissy Monroe and her English teacher, with whom she was having an affair, investigated by student journalist Charlie Chambers and Detective Grasso[1](https://www.shockya.com/news/2020/10/18/new-york-comic-con-2020-interview-sophie-thatcher-talks-when-the-streetlights-go-on-exclusive/) |\n| Creators | Written by Eddie O'Keefe and Chris Hutton; directed and executive produced by Rebecca Thomas[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/when_the_streetlights_go_on) |\n| Main cast | Chosen Jacobs, Sophie Thatcher, Queen Latifah, Kristine Froseth, Ben Ahlers, Sam Strike, Julia Sarah Stone, with Nnamdi Asomugha as the adult Charlie[4](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/exclusive-chosen-jacobs-talks-quibis-when-the-streetlights-go-on/) |\n| Reception | 71% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 21 reviews and 85% from audiences; 6.7/10 on IMDb[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/when_the_streetlights_go_on) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140663) |\n| Availability | Moved to The Roku Channel in 2021 and last available there until September 2023[6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/when-the-streetlights-go-on) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and cast\n\nThe story is set in the summer of 1995 in Colfax, a small suburban town in Illinois. Popular high school student Chrissy Monroe ([Kristine Froseth](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristine-froseth)) and her English teacher, Mr. Carpenter ([Mark Duplass](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-duplass)), who have been having a secret affair, are abducted by a masked gunman after meeting one night after school, driven into the woods, and murdered. Their bodies are discovered by Charlie Chambers (Chosen Jacobs), Chrissy's classmate and next-door neighbor, while he rides home through the woods on his bike. Charlie reports on the case for the school newspaper, and the series is narrated in the present day by his adult self, voiced by [Nnamdi Asomugha](https://www.edgepedia.org/nnamdi-asomugha).[1](https://www.shockya.com/news/2020/10/18/new-york-comic-con-2020-interview-sophie-thatcher-talks-when-the-streetlights-go-on-exclusive/)\n\nAround this investigation the show follows the town's teenagers. Chrissy's younger sister Becky ([Sophie Thatcher](https://www.edgepedia.org/sophie-thatcher)), described in reviews as the black sheep of the well-to-do Monroe family, helps Charlie and the lead investigator, Detective Darlene Grasso ([Queen Latifah](https://www.edgepedia.org/queen-latifah)), search for the person responsible. The supporting cast includes [Ben Ahlers](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-ahlers) as Chrissy's boyfriend Brad Kirchoff, Sam Strike as Casper Tatum, and Julia Sarah Stone as Berlice Beaman; Mark Duplass and Tony Hale appear in recurring roles.[4](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/exclusive-chosen-jacobs-talks-quibis-when-the-streetlights-go-on/) • [7](https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/when-the-streetlights-go-on-review-a-gripping-tale-that-needs-room-to-grow.html/) For Jacobs, previously known for *It* and *Hawaii Five-0*, the role was his first as the lead of a show.[4](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/exclusive-chosen-jacobs-talks-quibis-when-the-streetlights-go-on/)\n\nThe ten episodes carry titles including \"Cicadas,\" \"Closed Casket,\" \"Homecoming,\" \"Halloween,\" and the title episode, and were released on Quibi on consecutive weekdays from April 6 to April 15, 2020.[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/when-the-street-lights-go-on/allseasons/official)\n\n## Development history\n\nThe project began more than five years before its release as a movie script by O'Keefe and Hutton that circulated on the Black List, Hollywood's annual list of well-liked unproduced screenplays. It was converted into a television series, went through acquisitions by production companies, the attachment and later replacement of a major star, and a change in the identity of the story's killer. Hulu announced a pilot deal, and the pilot, directed by Brett Morgen, was screened in the Special Events program at the 2017 [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) as the producers sought a new buyer after the Hulu arrangements fell through.[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-sundance-streetlights-pilot-20170120-story.html)\n\nThe series was eventually produced as a Paramount Television and [Anonymous Content](https://www.edgepedia.org/anonymous-content) production, shot in Vancouver, and released on Quibi, with Rebecca Thomas directing and executive producing all ten episodes of the 2020 version. Thomas had previously made the independent film *Electrick Children* (2012) and directed episodes of *Stranger Things* and the [Facebook Watch](https://www.edgepedia.org/facebook-watch) series *[Limetown](https://www.edgepedia.org/limetown-tv-series)*.[1](https://www.shockya.com/news/2020/10/18/new-york-comic-con-2020-interview-sophie-thatcher-talks-when-the-streetlights-go-on-exclusive/) • [9](https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/download/13281/11624/86546)\n\n## Quibi and after\n\n*When the Streetlights Go On* was one of Quibi's launch titles in April 2020, among roughly 50 shows the platform released on its first day. Quibi, a mobile-focused service offering episodes of 10 minutes or less, shut down in December 2020 after falling short of its subscriber projections.[10](https://time.com/5815336/quibi-what-to-watch/) • [9](https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/download/13281/11624/86546) [The Roku Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roku-channel) picked up some former Quibi shows, and *When the Streetlights Go On* premiered there with a new episode each week beginning October 8, 2021.[7](https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/when-the-streetlights-go-on-review-a-gripping-tale-that-needs-room-to-grow.html/) It remained on The Roku Channel until September 2023 and is not currently available for streaming in the United States.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/when-the-streetlights-go-on)\n\nA 2024 scholarly study of cell phone fiction compared the series with the Snap Original *Class of Lies* and found that, despite Quibi's \"turnstyle\" feature allowing viewing in both landscape and portrait modes, *When the Streetlights Go On* embraced the stylistic and narrative design of long-form media rather than adapting to mobile-specific conventions.[9](https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/download/13281/11624/86546)\n\n## Reception\n\nOn Rotten Tomatoes the season holds a 71% Tomatometer from 21 reviews and an 85% audience score. The critics consensus says the show \"takes itself a little too seriously, but strong writing, an impressive cast, and most importantly, an intriguing mystery more than make up for it.\" Reviewers singled out Sophie Thatcher as a standout as Chrissy's younger sister, while some critics found the short episode format limiting; one review argued the story would have been better served as a feature film or a series with hour-long episodes.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/when_the_streetlights_go_on) • [7](https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/when-the-streetlights-go-on-review-a-gripping-tale-that-needs-room-to-grow.html/) On IMDb the series holds a rating of 6.7 out of 10 from about 1,500 users.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140663)\n\n## References\n\n1. [New York Comic Con 2020 Interview: Sophie Thatcher Talks When the Streetlights Go On, ShockYa](https://www.shockya.com/news/2020/10/18/new-york-comic-con-2020-interview-sophie-thatcher-talks-when-the-streetlights-go-on-exclusive/)\n2. [When the Streetlights Go On, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/when_the_streetlights_go_on)\n3. [When The Streetlights Go On, aired order, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/series/when-the-street-lights-go-on/allseasons/official)\n4. [Exclusive: Chosen Jacobs Talks Quibi's 'When The Streetlights Go On', Blackfilm.com](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/exclusive-chosen-jacobs-talks-quibis-when-the-streetlights-go-on/)\n5. [When the Streetlights Go On (TV Series 2017–2020), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140663)\n6. [When the Street Lights Go On, streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/when-the-streetlights-go-on)\n7. ['When the Streetlights Go On' Review, Showbiz Cheat Sheet](https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/when-the-streetlights-go-on-review-a-gripping-tale-that-needs-room-to-grow.html/)\n8. [Unwanted by film and abandoned by TV, a once-loved orphan seeks a home at Sundance, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-sundance-streetlights-pilot-20170120-story.html)\n9. [Cell phone fiction: Serial poetics and platform vernacular, First Monday](https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/download/13281/11624/86546)\n10. [We Watched Every New Show on Quibi, Time](https://time.com/5815336/quibi-what-to-watch/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Genre web series: horror, thriller, science fiction, and mystery*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/when-the-streetlights-go-on", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/when-the-streetlights-go-on.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"When the Streetlights Go On\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/when-the-streetlights-go-on. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[When the Streetlights Go On](https://www.edgepedia.org/when-the-streetlights-go-on)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/when-the-streetlights-go-on](https://www.edgepedia.org/when-the-streetlights-go-on). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"When the Streetlights Go On\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/when-the-streetlights-go-on. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "When the Streetlights Go On is a 2020 Quibi crime drama, 10 short episodes, set in 1995 Colfax, Illinois, about a double homicide investigated by teen Charlie Chambers; later on Roku Channel." }