Where to Stream It: Netflix (all 8 episodes of the limited series available now)
Starring: Lana Condor, Zoe Colleti, Mason Versaw, Apart Brielle, Tenzing Norgay Trainor
Show Created By: Time Schauer, Kuba Soltysiak, Erin Ehrlich, Lauren Iungerich
When I first heard the tagline for this show, “something bitchy this way comes”, I knew I had to check it out. As a jaded 30-something year-old gay man, I can always appreciate characters that are deliciously bitchy. What I got out of Boo, Bitch, however, was a major letdown.
What’s it about?
Boo, Bitch is a supernatural teen comedy about two high school best friends, Erika Vu (played by To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’s Lana Condor) and Gia (played by Zoe Colletti). They are two girls who find themselves left outside of the their high school’s social circle. This is evidenced by a running gag where fellow classmates and teachers mistake Erika’s name for Erika Who.
The friends vow to make their final six weeks of high school worth it and get on the radar of their peers. When they are finally invited to a high school party, Erika’s parents are relieved that their boring child is finally socializing.
That night both girls are involved in some sort of accident involving a vehicle and a giant moose (the details are a bit sketchy). Hungover, they wake up the next morning to see Erika’s shoes sticking out from under the moose and realize that she is now a ghost.
What else should you know?
Ghost mythology can vary in fiction, but I’ve never seen a show or movie take the approach that Boo, Bitch does to ghosts. Erika is described as an “embodied ghost.” One that can still be seen by others and can eat, kiss, sleep, and even pee. She also possesses powers to make lights flicker and laptops catch on fire, so there’s that.
Since no one else can tell she’s a ghost, she and Zoe continue on with their mission to make their last days of high school worth it. Now, however, there’s the added motivation to complete Erika's “unfinished business” so she can pass on to the afterlife.
Despite a darker premise, the show is more Scooby-Doo than Riverdale. The dialogue is quick and snappy, although not nearly as clever as it’s trying to be.
Boo, Bitch is filled with familiar tropes that are borrowed from much better films and TV such as Mean Girls, Booksmart, and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. As Erika fulfills her goals to be seen by her peers, it gets to her head and she ends up being cruel to Gia.
While Erika has a redemption arc in the final episodes, it’s hard to empathize with her for much of this. It also seems weird that she’s so comfortable with passing on to the afterlife and doesn’t seem too upset about it.
Final Thoughts- Shall You Stream It?
Cliche plot tropes, shallow characters, and an odd premise that has more plot holes than swiss cheese make this show something you should probably skip.
There’s some odd creative decisions here regarding how ghosts work in this show’s universe. Without revealing too much, let’s just say there are some things in the final episode that may leave you rolling your eyes, too. Or at the very least cringing at the very made-for-tv special effects.
The two lead actresses do the best they can with their material and at times the show lands some funny one-liners. I’m sure there’s plenty of talented people who worked on this show.
The final product here, though, is a mess. Boo bitch, indeed.
