First Kill
Genre
Created byVictoria Schwab
Based on"First Kill"
by V. E. Schwab
Starring
Music byKurt Farquhar
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • James Bigwood
  • Matt Matruski
Cinematography
Editors
  • Bjørn T. Myrholt
  • Karen Castañeda
  • Angela Latimer
  • Marc Pollon
Running time42–59 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNetflix
ReleaseJune 10, 2022 (2022-06-10)

First Kill is an American supernatural teen drama series created by Victoria Schwab that premiered on June 10, 2022 on Netflix.[1] The series is based on Schwab's short story of the same name.[2][3] In August 2022, the series was canceled after one season.[4]

Premise

Teenage vampire Juliette Fairmont, having celebrated her sixteenth birthday, needs to make her first kill in order to enter adulthood and take her place among her powerful family of Legacy vampires, matrilineal direct descendants of Lilith who chose to be bitten by the Serpent in the Garden of Eden. Juliette has difficulty choosing someone to feed on and struggles with her growing blood lust as she believes draining humans is wrong. She instead sets her sights romantically on the new girl Calliope Burns. Calliope, who belongs to a monster-hunting family from The Guardian Guild, needs to slay her first monster in order to gain her family's approval and officially become a Hunter herself. As both families become unavoidably involved, and Juliette and Calliope's relationship develops, the girls realize that killing each other is not so simple.

Cast and characters

Main

  • Sarah Catherine Hook as Juliette Fairmont
  • Imani Lewis as Calliope "Cal" Burns
  • Elizabeth Mitchell as Margot, Juliette's mother
  • Aubin Wise as Talia, Cal's mother
  • Gracie Dzienny as Elinor, Juliette's older sister
  • Dominic Goodman as Apollo, Cal's older brother
  • Phillip Mullings, Jr. as Theo, Cal's eldest half-brother
  • Jason R. Moore as Jack, Cal's father

Recurring

  • Will Swenson as Sebastian, Margot's formerly human husband
  • Jonas Dylan Allen as Ben Wheeler, Juliette's best friend
  • MK xyz as Tess Franklin, Cal's best friend
  • Joseph D. Reitman as Clayton Cook
  • Christopher B. Duncan as Principal Waters
  • Walnette Santiago as Carmen
  • Polly Draper as Davina Atwood, Margot's mother and ruler of the Legacy vampires
  • Dylan McNamara as Oliver, Juliette's older brother and Elinor's twin brother

In addition, Roberto Méndez co-stars as Noah Harrington.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"First Kiss"Jet WilkinsonTeleplay by : Victoria SchwabJune 10, 2022 (2022-06-10)
2"First Blood"Jet WilkinsonVictoria Schwab & Mark HudisJune 10, 2022 (2022-06-10)
3"First Fight"Eriq La SalleBryce Ahart & Stephanie McFarlaneJune 10, 2022 (2022-06-10)
4"First Date"Eriq La SalleJoy Blake & Italome OhikhuareJune 10, 2022 (2022-06-10)
5"First Love"Amanda TappingMiguel NollaJune 10, 2022 (2022-06-10)
6"First Severing"Amanda TappingMark HudisJune 10, 2022 (2022-06-10)
7"First Goodbye"John T. KretchmerJoy BlakeJune 10, 2022 (2022-06-10)
8"First Betrayal"Salim AkilFelicia D. HendersonJune 10, 2022 (2022-06-10)

Production

Development

Official release poster.

On October 15, 2020, Netflix gave the production a series order consisting of eight one-hour long episodes.[2] The series is created by Victoria Schwab who also executive produced alongside Felicia D. Henderson, Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss. First Kill is based on Schwab's short story of the same name. Schwab and Henderson co-wrote the episodes.[3] It is the first production from Roberts and Preiss's Belletrist Productions company.[5][6] On April 21, 2021, it was reported that Jet Wilkinson is set to direct the first two episodes of the series.[7] The series was released on June 10, 2022.[1] On August 2, 2022, Netflix canceled the series after one season.[4]

Casting

On March 10, 2021, Sarah Catherine Hook and Imani Lewis were cast to star.[8] On May 27, 2021, Elizabeth Mitchell, Aubin Wise, Jason R. Moore, Gracie Dzienny, Will Swenson, Phillip Mullings, Jr., Dominic Goodman, Dylan McNamara, MK xyz, Jonas Dylan Allen and Roberto Mendez joined the main cast.[9]

Filming

Production was scheduled to begin in late 2021 in Savannah, Georgia.[8]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 61% approval rating and an average rating of 5.8/10 based on 21 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "This sapphic soap about vampiric love is earnest enough to put a stake through the hearts of the genre faithful, but its clumsy execution leaves an aftertaste that's more garlicky than sweet."[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 45 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[11]

In its first three days on Netflix, the show was watched globally for 30.34 million hours.[12] After a month the show was watched upwards of over 100 million viewing hours peaking at number 3 in the Top 10 list for English speaking TV Shows.[13]

IndieWire listed it as one of the 31 best vampire TV shows and called it schlocky and predictable but "fun if you let it be".[14] Essence described it as a mash-up of Romeo and Juliet, The Vampire Diaries and "a relatable coming-of-age love story".[15]

Renewal efforts

A month after cancellation by Netflix, fans around the world have continued efforts to get the series renewed or moved to a different streaming service.[16] The social media outcry was taken by observers as proof that there is a popular market for LGBTQ+ TV shows with queer characters and their stories in the same style as Riverdale.[17] First Kill resonated with some fans because it is a queer storyline with Black representation and is on a list of fan favorites that Netflix cancelled.[18] The show has been compared on a must watch list to other fan favorite shows like Fate: The Winx Saga because the focus is on young girls with mystical capabilities.[19] First Kill's showrunner has hope that the series will get renewed because of fans' efforts.[20] Us Weekly included First Kill in a list of shows canceled too soon in November 2022.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 Hatchett, Keisha (May 5, 2022). "First Kill Lands Release Date at Netflix — Get First Look at YA Vampire Series". TVLine. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Petski, Denise (October 15, 2020). "Emma Roberts To Produce YA Vampire Series 'First Kill' At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Otterson, Joe (October 15, 2020). "Emma Roberts to Produce Series Adaptation of YA Vampire Short Story 'First Kill' at Netflix". Variety. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Andreeva, Nellie (August 2, 2022). "'First Kill' Canceled By Netflix After One Season". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  5. ↑ Porter, Rick (October 15, 2020). "Emma Roberts to Produce YA Vampire Drama for Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  6. ↑ Coke, Hope (January 28, 2022). "From Wild Child to Scream Queens: The rise and rise of Emma Roberts". Tatler. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  7. ↑ Petski, Denise (April 21, 2021). "Jet Wilkinson To Direct First Two Episodes Of Netflix's YA Vampire Series 'First Kill'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  8. 1 2 Andreeva, Nellie (March 10, 2021). "Sarah Catherine Hook & Imani Lewis To Headline Netflix's YA Vampire Series 'First Kill'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  9. ↑ Petski, Denise (May 27, 2021). "'First Kill': Netflix's YA Vampire Drama Series Sets Full Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  10. ↑ "First Kill: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  11. ↑ "First Kill: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  12. ↑ Moore, Kasey. "'First Kill' Season 2: Netflix Renewal Status & What To Expect". What's on Netflix. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  13. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie. "'First Kill' Canceled by Netflix After One Season". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  14. ↑ Foreman, Alison (October 24, 2022). "The 31 Best Vampire TV Shows, from Interview with the Vampire to Let the Right One In". IndieWire. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  15. ↑ Brown, D'Shonda (June 14, 2022). "Why Imani Lewis Decided to Sink Her Teeth into Netflix's 'First Kill'". Girls United:Essence. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  16. ↑ Levine, Daniel. "Netflix Subscribers Livid Over Latest Cancellation". Pop Culture. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  17. ↑ Perry, Sophie (September 14, 2022). "'First Kill may be cancelled, but queer people deserve trashy pop culture too'". Gay Times UK. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  18. ↑ Blackshear, Nasya (September 14, 2022). "Fan Favorite Shows That Netflix Canceled". The List. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  19. ↑ Delicana, Ysmael (September 19, 2022). "30 Shows Like Fate: The Winx Saga Every Fan Needs to Watch". Fiction Horizon. Archived from the original on September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  20. ↑ Shatto, Rachel (August 30, 2022). "Is Netflix's First Kill Not So Dead After All?". Pride. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  21. ↑ Grebenyuk, Yana (November 28, 2022). "TV Shows Gone Too Soon: 'Pitch','The Newsroom' and More". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
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