It's not often that I binge-watch a series (and there are plenty to watch in May 2023!). But the Netflix exclusive, Sweet Tooth, has really grabbed me by the horns (pun intended) and held me wide-eyed and open-jawed in front of the screen. It's a must-watch hidden gem that's exclusive to the streaming service.
Yes, I'm a latecomer to the show, which originally aired its first season in 2021, but more recently, in April 2023, the new eight-episode second season dropped for Netflix subscribers to tuck into. I can praise it til the cows come home (natch), of course, but I'm not the only one - as Sweet Tooth has a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Well, it sort of does, depending on how you look at it: 95% is the 'Average Tomatometer' score, versus the 79% 'Average Audience Score' metric. But that's still a solid innings and, hey, I get it, 21% of humanity needs to just cheer up a little more or something.
Not that Sweet Tooth is all sunshine and rainbows - it's often quite the opposite. The premise is that a virus has taken over the world, killing large portions of the population; simultaneously, however, those who are immune are finding that newborns are a 'hybrid' half-human, half-animal species.
The show follows Gus, the young deer-boy protagonist, and his 'Pubba', who is trying to protect him from the anti-hybrid militia. But Gus' story is much bigger and rather quickly we're introduced to numerous integral characters who see this fantasy tale (not tail) really soar.
What I really love about Sweet Tooth above all, however, is how it walks the fine line between dark and light, zany yet hard-hitting, while dabbling in key societal issues that reflect the complex world in which we live today - not only the hybrid-occupied new world depicted on screen.
And yet you never feel like it's lecturing you, nor spoon-feeding you various tropes. In large part much of the series actually feels like a kids show with an adult edge. It's rated 12 by the BBFC in the UK, because, quite rightly, of "injury detail, language, threat, violence" in each of the episodes.
The cast is stellar, too, from James Brolin's striking narration, to Neil Sandilands (daresay Dr. Robotnik-style) bad guy, Nonso Anozie's Emmy award-winning performance, Adeel Akhtar's tormented Dr. Aditya Singh, and, of course, Christian Convery's superb leading role as a young actor.
Dig in, I say, because line-blurring series like these don't air often. And after season 3 airs in a predicted late 2024 or early 2025, that'll be credits rolling - as Netflix isn't going to cancel this show, but confidently draw a line under it after the 24 episodes have aired. I like a story with an ending.