Another piece of interesting worldbuilding: the titular first kill isn’t just a rite of passage in a social sense but also a sort of adulthood-claiming health necessity (the red filter as the young vampire copes with bloodlust isn’t particularly subtle but still effective in capturing a hormonal parallel to puberty). There aren’t just vampires but also zombies, demons, and other bizarre creatures. The pacing is pretty strong, with the stakes escalating each episode (the pilot cliffhanger certainly set up the series nicely). The two leads - one vampire, one vampire hunter - are both legacies, neither of them fulfilling their birthrights, which can be a lovely metaphor for being queer. Each girl’s sexuality is blessedly matter-of-fact and feels intrinsic to their characters (and their stories) without being tokenistic, another nice step in representation. There is intriguing mythology in play, stretching back to the Garden of Eden, that includes deified snakes and a subset of vampires unaffected by daylight or silver-tipped stakes to the heart. First Kill, based on Victoria Schwab’s short story, is classic star-crossed lover + supernatural storytelling with an interracial lesbian twist.
So it comes as no surprise that Netflix’s newest queer YA drama (the streamer is on a bit of a hot streak with these) acknowledges the star-crossed lovers in the theme song to honor + contrast itself. Love it or hate it, Twilight cemented young adult (YA) vampire stories into the mainstream after the hard work of its predecessors like Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Production Company(s)/ Studio(s): On The Day Productions God's Favorite Idiot Netflix Comedy Carry 3 Stars Series Regulars: Melissa McCarthy as Amily Luck, Ben Falcone as Clark Thompson, Usman Ally as Mohsin Raza, Ana Scotney as Wendy, Chris Sandiford as Tom, Kevin Dunn as Gene, Steve Mallory as Frisbee, Yanic Trusedale as Chamuel, Leon Ford as Milton Throp Team: Ben Falcone (creator, ep, writer), Melissa McCarthy (ep), Michael McDonald (director, ep) Despite thematic, storytelling, and character issues, this one has potential to live on our idiot boxes. God’s Favorite Idiot is a workplace sitcom with a light apocalyptic bent with good performances + a quirky sense of humor. The surrounding characters feel more compelling (particularly Sandiford, Truesdale, and Scotney/Ally). Aside from some familiar jokes, it doesn’t have a new take on religion itself or the religious. The real series quest only kicks in by the second episode, feeling a little late, while the fourth episode’s Satan début feels far too late. Some of the stories run on a bit long without hitting enough laughs to justify the length of the laughs, especially in the pilot. Only 1/3 of the series regulars are BIPOC, and why an admittedly-average white man is the vessel for God’s word feels odd in 2022. The biggest issue is that the series feels tame given its subject matter. Production Company(s)/ Studio(s): Tilted Productions Teenage Bounty Hunters Netflix Comedy Carry 3 Stars Series Regulars: Maddie Phillips as Sterling Wesley, Anjelica Bette Fellini as Blair Wesley, Kadeem Hardison as Bowser Jenkins, Virginia Williams as Debbie Wesley Burley (director), Andrew DeYoung (director), Tara Herrmann (ep), Kathleen Jordan (creator, ep, writer), Jenji Kohan (ep), Shane Kosakowski (writer), Blake McCormick (ep), Lauren Morelli (director), Jesse Peretz (director, ep), Robert Sudduth (ep, writer)
Despite some thematic negatives, there is a decent enough bounty here to hunt. Teenage Bounty Hunters is a sometimes-delightful mishmash of Christian school coming-of-age shenanigans + adult skip tracing procedural. I don’t know why we needed to see the Confederate flag or statues.
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Blair trying to learn how to not be anti-Black is very basic, pointing to her own lack of awareness. From American Princess creator Kathleen Jordan + Orange Is The New Black executive producer Jenji Kohan comes another upper middle class white women struggle vehicle with sometimes limited awareness of the world outside their bubble. The Christianity + bougie private school critiques are mostly toothless or expected (meh to the slut-shaming, class-based cliques). Though the young white women were likely the more compelling sell, Hardison’s own separate struggles feels stronger thematically.
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