Sweet Tooth (2021): We Take A Non-Spoilery Look At The Netflix Series First Season

I finished binging the first season of  Netflix’s new popular series this evening; the series is a unique amalgamation of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and high adventure in the form of a dangerous cross-country odyssey. The series has the feel of a myth or a modern fairy-tale. And that’s not a bad thing. Netflix has cracked the code for creating a popular series by borrowing a trick employed by The Mandalorian. In addition, the show introduces an almost irresistible cuteness factor in the form of one of its characters. Fortunately, the series does not depend entirely on cuteness; it also has excellent writing and a great soundtrack. The show’s creators did a good job.

Sweet Tooth represents a refreshing change of pace from the plethora of grin and gritty shoot-’em-ups the studios have been inundating us with lately. This comics-based series is an enjoyable sci-fi fairy-tale. This film is family entertainment, but parents may want to check this out first and decide if it is suitable viewing for their kids because even though it’s primarily light-hearted fare, this series has a dark side like most fairy-tales.

Sweet Tooth’s narrative, which centers around its eponymous character, called Gus, takes place in a near-future that parallels our own in that the arrival of a virus changes everything. The series explores several coinciding storylines that give the viewer examples of how this pandemic affects the characters’ lives. Coinciding with the pandemic is the arrival of children that display characteristics of animals, known as hybrids. These mutants get shunned by society, and worse, They are even hunted down and experimented on just like lab animals. Outside of the show’s narratives main discussion of being ab outsider and unaccepted for who you are. Sweet Tooth asks the question, ‘what if these animals were our kids? Would the way we treat animals be okay? And then answers it absolutely would not be okay.  The series also touches on and introduces themes like cynicism vs. optimism, trust, friendship, family, faith, and hope. This series is almost immediately engaging and employs excellent world-building in telling its story.

Not familiar with this new title? Sweet Tooth is an American fantasy drama streaming television series developed by Jim Mickle. It is based on the comic book of the same name by Jeff Lemire and premiered on Netflix on June 4, 2021. SweetTooth, this series is a dramedy that introduces a diverse group of unknown characters, are connected or will be in the series’ complex narrative that portrays a series of what seem like fated events. The cast is excellent in this, and even the child actors pass muster.

Deserving of special mention here is Christian Convery as Gus. This kid is near perfect in the role and far more appealing than his comic book counterpart. His features get transformed by animatronics and almost seamless makeup. As second banana to Gus, and in the sharp contrast is Nonso Anozie, as world-weary. ex-football player who initially and reluctantly becomes Gus’ traveling companion. He does an excellent job as the cynical, pessimistic realist who gradually begins to change because of contact with the kid and unexpectedly finds a kind of unexpected salvation. Also turning in great performances are Will Forte, Stefania LaVie Owen, Akeel Akhtar, Dania Ramirez, and the suitably menacing Neil Sandlands. He portrays the show’s memorable, sadistic, sinister villain, the General, a mentally imbalanced anti-hybrid soft-spoken but violent militia leader.

If you haven’t guessed yet, I found this series very enjoyable. Sweet Tooth somehow avoids feeling too contrived. This film’s narrative is excellent storytelling that gets well adapted to television. The series is not perfect, though; it is guilty of cuteness overkill sometimes and sometimes becomes so cloying it almost invokes a toothache. The series IMO also goes too far when introducing an animatronic character in the final two episodes of the season. Still, Sweet Tooth, the series is most enjoyable and recommended. The show’s first season has a cliffhanger ending that finishes on an optimistic note. I’m eager to see what happens next in the show’s second season.