The Reel Review
Sophia Lillis (It, Gretel & Hansel) stars in this coming of age, dark comedy/mystery series on Netflix about a high school teenager trying to cope with a lot on her plate – grief over her father’s suicide, her burgeoning sexuality and the realization that she possesses mysterious superpowers. It is based on the 2017 graphic novel by comic book author Charles Forsman (The End of the F***ing World).
The story, an absurd mashup of Stranger Things, Booksmart, and Carrie (yes, THAT Carrie) is a quick, easy binge with seven episodes, each less than 30 minutes in length. Lillis adds the perfect, much-needed believable air to the unlikely plot with a prickly but likably insecure character, alongside a solid supporting cast that includes her It co-star Wyatt Oleff, Sofia Bryant (Blue Bloods) and Kathleen Rose Perkins (Gone Girl, NCIS: Los Angeles).
While the superpower aspects of the series at times feel a bit jarring and out of place compared to the more compelling and way more relatable personal drama, it does make for one heck of a season finale. We are VERY okay with this.
REEL FACTS
• Sophia Lillis and Wyatt Oleff, who are also good friends, also co-starred in 2017’s It and 2019’s It: Chapter Two.
• Netflix has yet to confirm Season 2, but it is expected to be, and if so, will likely be released in early 2021.
• Sophia Lillis, whose big break was 2017’s It, started her acting career at the age of seven, when her filmmaker stepfather encouraged her to take classes at Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York.
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