Netflix Original: Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth may be a DC Comics property but aside from that it really is not like anything that has come before. The edge it has over competitors is that it offers something different and not just more superheroes.

As a Pandemic ravages the world the latest evolution is human animal hybrid children. Like anything new and misunderstood the world does not like hybrids and blames them for the plague. Now as fear and paranoia take over people will do anything they can to hold onto normalcy.

2Gus is the audience's main exposure to the hybrids and he immediately humanizes them thanks to the scenes with Pubba (Will Forte). Gus is more human than hybrid and it's commented throughout the series that everyone is bewildered by this. If it was not for these early interactions it would not have carried the same tension. There are a lot of emotions that get thrown around during the first episode. Loss, acceptance, fear, curiosity and courage to name a few. We know the story will take shape due to loss and we experience that through Gus.

Juxtaposed against the main story are two other storylines that will come together. Dr. Aditya Singh and his wife Rani are one. Rani has been treated for the Sick with an ongoing medical cocktail that harbors secrets of its own. The information he is left with is sought by General Abbot and his Last Men army who also look to eradicate the hybrids. The second is Aimee and Wendy. After Wendy (a hybrid) is left on her doorstep at the Essex County Zoo she realizes she has the power to help lost hybrids have a home.

Those stories play off each other well and combined with Gus and his hyperfocus to find his mother all add to the overall bigger picture. It leaves you wondering how all of this came to be and how all of it will end up coming together in the end. Gus has no idea if Birdie is even out there so all of that looms too. He is searching for a character the audience knows nothing about. It is a unique perspective. We learn the world with blind eyes similar to the way Gus learns by stepping outside the fence.

It is poetic to tell the story of Birdie and Pubba when Gus finds himself in Essex County. Will Forte returns and is great playing a socially awkward character before the world went to hell. His chemistry with Amy Siemetz is felt right off the bat and just adds more levels of complexity to the plot. Christian Convery is also very likable as Gus throughout the series. Combining that curiosity with his exploration of the new world really allows him to shine and captivate us as well when we learn new things.

Sweet Tooth is visually impressive as well in the small aspects of the changed world that we do get to see. It shapes a larger picture and has heavy social commentary even if it is mostly stuff that has been said in various ways before. It still shows the science, the probabilities and the striking resemblance to somethings that look eerily similar to visuals of the real 2020. Having originally been published in 2009 there was no way to know that similarities would play out in reality but it did help drive home the anxiety of those attempting to avoid the Sick.

The writers definitely left room for more as the season wraps. Despite it being grim in some aspects it was also very hopeful for Gus in the very least because he finally knows he is not alone in the fight. This is not a show that should probably go more than 3 seasons because it would begin to lose authenticity and flow. What worked is the smaller stories leading to a massive coming together in the final moments. While I do hope the show does continue based on where it was left I also want the writers to approach it with the same organic storytelling feel season one had all throughout.

Warner Bros should have more projects of this nature and stay out of the hands on portion. Sweet Tooth was a prime example of digging deep in the catalogue for a story that deserved to be told while making changes that only make the story stand out that much more. A wonderful show from beginning to end. Netflix has another winning series to add to its repertoire. I hope the future yields great things for this series and positive word of mouth can only improve those odds. If you are looking for the next great binge I hope you have a Sweet Tooth. Don't sleep on this one.