You mean to tell me that vampires, possibly roaming this Earth for centuries according to legends, are often portrayed as cooped up heterosexual hermits hell-bent on their traditional, dusty ways?
Granted that we have queer side characters in “Twilight” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” we’re more than diverse token characters. There’s also Nora and Mary Louise from “Vampire Diaries,” but well, let’s just say it’s another case of Bury Your Gays.
The pleasant twist of “The Haunting of Bly Manor” being more of sapphic romance than a ghost story was good, and we want more of that horror blend. It’s time for the queer, modern-day bloodsuckers to take the spotlight, and apparently Netflix is already at it.
The streaming platform is currently working on a new vampire series called “First Kill,” following a young vampire named Juliette who’s pressured into her vampiric coming of age: She has to secure her first kill soon and it’s the new girl in town, Calliope, who’s coincidentally a vampire hunter.
“First Kill” is based off one of the 11 vampire stories found in “Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite,” a young adult anthology on “bold, breathtaking, dangerous, dreamy, eerie, iconic, powerful creatures of the night” (words straight off the official blurb of the book) navigating the modern world.
Let’s hope the series will be faithful to its source and add value to queer representation in media.
Not only is this a sapphic vampire series, it’s also an enemies-to-lovers story―a classic fave among those of us who have suffered over fanfiction in our growing years. Add “slow burn” to the mix and sign us up (well it’s only eight episodes so it’s hardly gonna be a slow burn, but sign us up anyway).
So far, there’s not a lot of details about this series yet except that Emma Roberts will be producing this series with best friend Karah Preiss. “First Kill”’s creator V.E. Schwab will be co-writing and producing as well, while “Gossip Girl” writer Felicia Henderson will be the series’ showrunner.
Though, it’s kinda odd that Netflix greenlighted this series after canceling seasons for other existing lesbian series like: “The Society,” which was supposed to be renewed for another season this year but was reversed because of “COVID-19 related circumstances.” “Atypical” and “I Am Not Okay With This” were also canceled for the same reasons.
It’s not the first time that Netflix is chopping off seasons for good queer shows while more popular titles get repeatedly renewed. Eight is also pretty small for an episode count in a single season compared with other shows, but with the original creator on board, let’s hope the series will be faithful to its source and add value to queer representation in media.
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Still from “Vampire Diaries”
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