What We're Watching: TV Shows Gone Too Soon, May 2021
Welcome back to What We’re Watching!
In my opinion, one of life’s greatest heartbreaks is losing a television series that you love because some TV executive in an office decided it wasn’t worth saving. No matter your age, it’s crushing as a fan of a show to become emotionally invested in character arcs to find out that they will never be resolved. You’re left wondering things like ‘did they end up together?’, ‘did [beloved lead/supporting character] really just die?’, or ‘omg did the world just end?!’. There’s too many questions, yet not enough answers! If you’re also still bitter about the cancellation of a show you loved, this month’s column is for you
I Am Not Okay With This (2020 created by Jonathan Entwistle and Christy Hall)
CW: suicide
The title of this comedy-drama perfectly captures my feelings toward its renewal and then subsequent cancellation by Netflix - I am not okay with this! In this series, seventeen year old Sydney ‘Syd’ Novak (Sophia Lillis) is already having a difficult time dealing with the death of her father, her growing romantic feelings for her best friend, and the awkwardness of being a teenage girl when she discovers that she’s gaining superpowers. After Syd’s neighbor, Stanley Barber (Wyatt Oleff), discovers her secret he becomes a confidant as she navigates her new reality. What makes I Am Not Okay With This so unique to me is the focus it puts on its female lead rather than spending its time developing a world of superpowered beings fighting crime or destruction. Instead, it’s centered on Syd and her experiences in the small Pennsylvania town she lives in. Viewers see her dynamic with Stanley develop, the first spark of her feelings for her best friend, Dina (Sofia Bryant), and we see the effect that gaining superpowers has on Syd, during an already isolating time in her life. The vulnerability that Lillis brings to the role paired with Oleff’s nerdy charm creates a really compelling dynamic between the two characters that I wish had the chance to develop over more than seven episodes. This was one of my favorite new shows of 2020 and I’m still a little bitter that Netflix played with my emotions like this. - Brynna A, Editorial Lead
Dare Me (2019 created by Megan Abbott and Gina Fattore)
CW: Sexual Assault
If Euphoria and Bring it On had a baby, it would be Dare Me. Set in a small, lonely Midwestern town, Dare Me follows questionable friends/ occasional enemies, Addy and Beth, as they are pushed to their limits by a new cheer coach with strict methods but high hopes of winning a national title. Beth basically runs the school as captain of the cheer team, with Addy right by her side as her ride or die. That all changes once Coach Colette French shakes up the team by taking Beth’s position and leaving it up for grabs. While Beth swears revenge on the coach, Addy finds herself naturally gravitating towards Colette, another cheerleader on the team with a dark mystery. With their friendship in limbo, the coach down their throats, and Colette’s secret potentially ruining both their shot nationals AND threatening multiple lives- this show was just so good. The power struggle between Colette and Beth is probably one of the most badass storylines I’ve seen on TV. Outside of the drama going on between them, the cheer scenes alone are fascinating to watch. The competition and homecoming episodes are borderline terrifying, as the squad is literally just one mistake away from losing it all. In fact, if you do watch it, be prepared to never look at milk and ice baths the same way again. Trust me on this! I never thought a thriller about a cheerleading team would stress me out so much, but here I am with a massive cliffhanger of an ending and so many questions that need answers from the writer’s room. I personally want justice for Dare Me- please give me a second season!!! - Daniela E, TLL Content and Partnerships Coordinator
Sweet/Vicious (2016 created by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson)
CW: Sexual Assault
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson instantly became one of my favorite writers with her MTV comedy-drama Sweet/Vicious. College student Jules (Eliza Bennett) is a sorority sister by day and vigilante by night. She seeks justice for the women on campus who don’t feel supported in reporting sexual assault by physically attacking the men responsible so that they feel the same fear and isolation their victims do. Jules does this because she is also a sexual assault survivor who felt dismissed by the school when she first came forward the previous school year. Hacker Ophelia (Taylor Dearden) stumbles upon Jules’ double life by accident, but with Ophelia’s tech skills and Jules’ self-defense training they soon become a force to be reckoned with. Centering a series around sexual assault without being exploitative is not easy, but in my opinion Sweet/Vicious does a great job of putting power back into the hands of survivors through Jules. This series had so much potential to spark important conversations about the treatment of survivors by institutions. With the critical success of the film Promising Young Woman this year, it’s hard not to wonder what the conversation would be like if Sweet/Vicious was still on air - or at the very least had the opportunity to complete Jules’ story. There’s obviously an audience for women-created revenge narratives and it’s a shame that MTV didn’t see it. - Brynna A, Editorial Lead
High Fidelity (2020 created by Sarah Kucserka and Veronica West)
If I had to make a list of my Top Five favorite TV series of all time, High Fidelity would make that list, without a doubt. Robyn ‘Rob’ Brooks (Zoe Kravitz) breaks the mold of the female lead in a rom com. Typically women in this genre fall to the expecations of the male gaze and the cis-hetero standards of dating. But she doesn’t care. She’s a cigarette smoking, whiskey drinking, music obsessed, bisexual record store owner in Brooklyn... and I love her. The series starts a year after Rob’s breakup with her last boyfriend Mac (Kingsley Ben-Adir). Rob runs into Mac unexpectedly (he moved to London right after their breakup, it’s a whole thing) before a date and it sends her spiraling and overthinking every single relationship she’s been in. High Fidelity uses fourth-wall breaks to bring you inside Rob’s psyche as she makes a mess of her love life by revisiting all of her past relationships to solve what went wrong and save her future love life. Not gonna lie, Rob is a lil messy, but it’s her honesty and vulnerability with us, the viewer, that makes her such a compelling character. She’s deciding what to do with her life and her relationships, which is somewhere most of us have been before. This series was one of my first quarantine binges and I couldn’t help myself from watching the entire 10 episode series at least three times those first few months. I connect with Rob’s desire to determine if her loneliness is because of self-sabotaging behavior or matters outside of her control, and I wish I knew her answer. Hulu, why won’t you give High Fidelity another season to explore this further? It’s what Rob - and the viewer- deserves. - Brynna A, Editorial Lead
Deadly Class (2019 created by Rick Remender)
CW: violence & gore
Maybe it’s Lana Condor in dark lipstick. Maybe it’s the heavy 80s punk aesthetic. Maybe it’s the main character’s intense hatred of Ronald Reagan. But something about Rick Remender’s Deadly Class sticks in my head even two years after its tenth and final episode, despite it being no more than a blip in Syfy’s programming history. Deadly Class is understandably not for everyone. It’s a show about rage-filled teenagers learning how to kill people. Its characters are deeply scarred on both the inside and outside, which can be uncomfortable at first but ultimately gives way to their unique and heartfelt nuances. Adapted from the comic book of the same name, the sci-fi drama takes place in the 80s and follows Marcus (Benjamin Wadsworth), a troubled, unhoused orphan on the run. He’s wanted for burning down the orphanage from which he came, along with all the children and staff inside. With some coaxing, Marcus is recruited by Master Lin (Benedict Wong) to attend King’s Dominion, which can only be described as a secret prep school for burgeoning assassins. The events following contain all the drama of Gossip Girl with the action and gore of American Horror Story.
What I love most about the show is its attention to the craft. The lighting, costumes, makeup, the soundtrack… the way it casually switches back and forth from comic book animation to live action. If you can see past the grit, the show is visually stunning. The characters are more than just killer teens and the more you watch, the more they show you their hearts. By the end of the season, I had a soft spot for each and every one of them. The season ends on a cliffhanger, which makes it all the more devastating that we’ll likely never see another episode. Syfy and the streaming platforms who failed to save Deadly Class – you missed a great opportunity at fostering something fresh and exciting. - Brielle W, TLL social editor
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
What We’re Watching is our guide on tv and films from our team at the Light Leaks. Finding new things to watch shouldn’t feel intimidating- too many of us have been bombarded by bro-y film culture telling us what’s good. This column is our way of introducing you to new (and maybe some familiar) favs to watch. Happy viewing!