# Nightmare Cafe (1992)

> A 1992 NBC telefantasy in which a mysterious cafe becomes a place of second chances and dark supernatural comedy.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/4317

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: fantasy, horror, comedy
- Created by: Wes Craven, Thomas Baum
- Network: NBC
- Cast: Jack Coleman, Lindsay Frost, Robert Englund, Carrie-Anne Moss, Angela Bassett, Timothy Carhart, Peter Outerbridge, Beth Toussaint
- TMDB rating: 7.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103502/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: dark humor, eerie, whimsical, playful, mystical

## Synopsis

Nightmare Cafe (1992) is a short-lived American telefantasy series created by Wes Craven and Thomas Baum for NBC. Running for a single abridged season of six episodes, it follows the mysterious proprietor Blackie (Robert Englund) and the cafe staff he presides over, as ordinary people wander into a strange restaurant where supernatural bargains and moral reckonings unfold. Frank Nolan (Jack Coleman) and Fay Peronivic (Lindsay Frost) anchor the episodes as the cafe's core characters, while guest stars such as Angela Bassett and Carrie-Anne Moss appear in individual stories. Each episode is largely self-contained, built around a customer whose choices invite a supernatural consequence. The tone mixes mystical fantasy with dark humor, horror and outright comedy, giving the show an eerie yet playful atmosphere. Its structure leans on one-off encounters within a single recurring setting rather than a long continuing mythology. Fans of The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt and Beetlejuice will find resonance in its wry, uncanny storytelling. Its cult status grew through later cable reruns on Sci Fi Channel and Chiller.

## Shows like Nightmare Cafe

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- [Poltergeist: The Legacy (1996)](https://ember.film/tv/10411)
- [NOS4A2 (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/72488)
- [Beauty and the Beast (1987)](https://ember.film/tv/2277)
- [Somewhere Between (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/61560)
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- [Dead Like Me (2003)](https://ember.film/tv/2439)
- [Freddy's Nightmares (1988)](https://ember.film/tv/4131)
- [Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital (2004)](https://ember.film/tv/1521)

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