Relationships, Death, and Yearning For High School Popularity

Many studies have been conducted about the dying and their regrets. People often describe that their biggest regrets in life include not being true to themselves, denying and allowing opportunities to seek out happiness to come their way, not expressing their feelings, and not keeping the friendships that mattered the most to them. Movies, television, literature, and theater have done quite a bit of the heavy work when exploring what the afterlife could mean to an individual, whether it is in the vein of the now-classic Beetlejuice or a tragic drama like The Lovely Bones. But what if someone was allowed to come back and fulfill all of their unmet goals? That is what happens in Netflix’s newest limited series: Boo, Bitch.

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Boo, Bitch was officially ordered in February 2021 and was slated to be a limited series of eight episodes. The release date was set to be July 8, 2022. Each episode is roughly twenty-six minutes, making the entire season easy to binge in a little over four hours. The series was created by Tim Schauer, Kuba Soltysiak, Lauren Iungerich, and Erin Ehrlich. They also serve as executive producers alongside the show’s star, Lana Condor. Though there are no updates on whether the show will be continued in a different form, viewers can watch the entirety of the first season on Netflix.

Lana Condor continues her streak of appearing in young adult movies and television, as she is the main star of Boo, Bitch. After the release of Moonshot earlier this year, this project pivots away from the stereotypical YA romance stories and instead focuses on the comedic elements of being a youth. Zoe Colletti (Annie, Fear the Walking Dead), Mason Versaw, and Aparna Brielle (A.P. Bio) round out the remainder of the show’s main cast. Largely set within a high school, many of their characters fall into the classic archetypes found in teen shows: the heartthrob, the popular girl, the awkward girl, etc. Ozark’s Madison Thompson also makes an appearance in the show.

A Ghostly Rebirth and Rise to Popularity

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It is senior year and almost time for many high school students to start the next chapter of their lives. However, Erika (Condor) and Gia (Colleti) are coming to realize they have nothing to show for their high school experience outside of what they learned in class. Erika was cursed by a popular girl in her class, Riley after she accidentally made Riley’s nose bleed after a glow-up. Riley declares that Erika will never be anyone at school, condemning Erika to a life that she seems to be as good as being buried alive. Perhaps the self-care and wellness trend of manifestations might come on a little too strong, as that is exactly what ends up happening in some capacity.

In the show’s opening scene, Erika explains in a voiceover she is dead, the camera lingering on a moose with her shoes beneath it. During the first episode of the series, best friends Erika and Gia insist that they are going to turn their senior year around, creating some epic moments and memories that they can look back on forever. This plan takes a major twist with Erika’s death, as she decides because she is living on borrowed time, it is time to check every single thing off her bucket list. She starts a relationship with the popular boy that she has had a crush on for the longest time, finds herself becoming more popular as the days, and gains a following on social media.

Meanwhile, Gia and Erika are investigating why she is still physically on Earth. However, Erika’s personality completely flips from the first couple of episodes, creating a jarring contrast to who she was at the beginning, and their relationship begins to fracture. Maybe that is some extended metaphor for loss by the end of the series—because Erika died and Gia is technically left behind in the world of the living, she lost her best friend in the first episode. While her ghost is physically there, the girl Gia knew and loved is gone. This metaphor goes even further when Erika’s love interest begins to realize Erika is no longer the same girl he fell in love with, and he does not know if he even likes this new version of her.

The side characters provide a more nuanced depiction of teenage life and the world that they live in. Boo, Bitch does not have the time to dwell on the possibilities it touches upon throughout, expanding on the universe that all of them live within, but there is a surprising element of maturity woven throughout. It is a coming-of-age story that denies the initial wave of grief that comes with one’s death, allowing Erika to try and achieve more than she could. But was it worth it? It depends on which character one may ask. Perhaps one of the show’s biggest flaws is that it focused too much on Erika as a character, not allowing itself the room to explore what Gia or Riley could be.

Related: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between Review: Another YA Movie Lacking Depth

Surprising Philosophical, Nuanced Themes

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Although the show falls under the genre of a young adult comedy, its jokes, and gags tumble flat. Condor and Colleti keep the momentum going, making these characters come alive. Erika and Gia are awkward, a bit naïve, and embody the traits and characteristics indicative of Generation Z. The best friends communicate with each other in completely different styles. Gia is prone to rambling, and Erika seems like she has done some theater with her dramatic monologues, but they come harmoniously together when speaking in acronyms. At times, Boo, Bitch is vaguely reminiscent of a movie like Booksmart, except the main characters in Boo, Bitch are plagued by supernatural elements, and the humor does not take it as far as Booksmart does.

If there is one element that shines in Boo, Bitch, it is Lana Condor. Her character undertakes a radical transformation throughout the show, transitioning from a painfully awkward girl that seeks out visibility to a ghost that seeks out a specific brand of vengeance through becoming a queen bee. Whether she is portraying the snotty, holier-than-thou version of Erika or the original girl who is weirdly good at beer pong and devastated over her high school experience, Condor embodies the role. She had previous experience in a similar role—her character in All The Boys I Loved Before slowly grows out of her shell, too, throughout the series’ progression—so it is no surprise she can pull Erika’s character off so well.

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Audiences have seen this story before in classics like Mean Girls, relying on the trope of the ugly duckling undergoing drastic procedures to become someone worth noticing. While this particular trope can be problematic, justifying why women need to change to be considered beautiful or worthwhile in the eyes of society, Boo, Bitch at least goes over the consequences of such transformations. Erika gets what she wants, but it does not mean there were sacrifices made in the process of getting there. As the girls’ friendship begins to dissolve in pursuit of Erika’s rebirth and goals, the show as a whole begins to fall into the trap of the typical conventions found in young adult content. At times, the show also comes across as low-budget, but this is not too distracting until it is. Then certain conversations may cross into questionable and problematic territory, feeling like it is trying too hard to relate to teenagers.

Boo, Bitch may not fully land the mark with its comedic elements, but with its short runtime, it manages to keep its content fresh without consistently feeling too forced. There are also some timely themes here, although the show’s shortness may not be able to explore them fully. As Erika states in the first episode, as she is distraught about her lack of popularity, “It is better to be unseen than to be seen. Maybe this is who I am.” Although history repeats itself, teenagers today are facing all-time highs in depression, anxiety, and global crises. Gia and Erika set out, in the beginning, to make their senior year the best it could be, trying to leave behind a legacy, but perhaps at the end of the day, it might be about relationships and what it means to be alive. It takes time and some digging to hit those themes, so some may not find the journey rewarding enough to reach that point.

The first season of Boo, Bitch is available on Netflix as of July 8, 2022.

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