Netflix’s Trending 8-Part Psychological Drama Is Unlike Anything Released This Year

Netflix's reputation for bingeable TV shows and boundary pushing have kept it as the world's biggest paid subscription streaming platform despite some fierce competition from other streamers with established niches. The best series on Netflix are not always long, but they tend to pack an immediate punch, with some excellent psychological thriller shows like Mindhunter and Black Doves bringing something so new to the genre that they remain the platform's flagship series even after several years and many new entries. Now, Netflix's latest psychological drama is one of its most creative yet, dividing critics and impressing audiences.

The Body released this week and already, the show's reputation precedes it. Merging the teen culture social commentary seen in iconic movies like Easy A and Mean Girls with the disturbing psychological dynamic explored in Yellowjackets, the eight-part thriller has become a global streaming hit, albeit a controversial one. The Body both highlights and ridicules the Catholic Church's reputation for reinforcing both homophobia and related hypocrisy, making it a very entertaining watch for the non-religious, and according to Flixpatrol, the show is currently trending at Netflix's #2 spot both in the US and worldwide.

What Netflix's The Body Is About

The Body is set within a Catholic school with a rigid social order. The dance troupe, the Lions, are at the top, while Lisbeth and Leo, two formerly-homeschooled siblings, are the outcasts, with Leo apparently content with his lot but Lisbeth's desperation to be part of the cool crowd practically seeps through the screen. She gets her chance at a raunchy and drug-fueled Halloween party, but things quickly turn from Mean Girls to The Craft when the girls experience seizures and what may or may not be paranormal visions.

With the dance troupe's newest member, Grace, in a coma, the staff and students race to uncover what happened to her and what is affecting the other girls, but The Body's shocking ending leaves more questions than answers. The supernatural hints and teen girl cruelty might see some comparing The Body to Prime Video's Stephen King adaptation, Carrie, but the comparison ends with its high school setting and religious trauma. Carrie's use of social media was key to the story, but The Body will transport viewers straight to the pink diamanté-d, velour tracksuited, and virtually social media-free early 2000s.

The Body blends several tones that do not usually go together, with the series being gritty, messy, and unapologetically campy. The dance sequences and raunchy humor exist alongside an uncomfortably realistic portrayal of the reality of growing up both religious and part of the LGBT+ community, complete with repression, denial, and teenage lust. Netflix has streamed some excellent thriller miniseries this year, but they still tend to place a "whodunnit" at the center of the story, while The Body works more as a character study, with the characters in question being both fascinating and frustrating.

The Body's Reviews Have Been Positive So Far

While some critics found the pacing slow, with Roger Ebert's Clint Worthington also describing some "dim, muddy cinematography," other reviews of The Body's first season have been overwhelmingly positive. ScreenRant's Dani Kessel Odom praised the series for being "as messy as it is fun," highlighting the fact that while the acting performances were mixed, the series itself feels authentically made by people who grew up with many of the same defining coming-of-age experiences as the characters, who have not yet found their community. Rotten Tomatoes critics have given The Body an 86% positive score, while audiences were considerably more impressed.

The Body debuted to a rare perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, but while more recent critic ratings have lowered its overall percentage, The Body's audience score is still 98%. This is a positive sign for the series' future, with creator Quinn Shephard telling What's On Netflix that "I would say that there are some Season 2 ideas percolating in my brain." Netflix might have a reputation for canceling shows before their time, but it is possible that after the show's shocking cliffhanger, The Body's final questions might just have answers.

Source: Roger Ebert