Fans of Teen Wolf rejoice, as you can soon sink your teeth into the new Paramount+ series developed for television by Jeff Davis on the same day as Teen Wolf: The Movie also releases. Unconnected to the former MTV series launched back in 2011, the streaming service’s upcoming supernatural teen drama series also excitedly marks the long-awaited return of legendary Sarah Michelle Gellar to the genre. But will the latest slice of the supernatural live up to the hype?
Based on the book series of the same name by horror author Edo Van Belkom, Wolf Pack centres on California teens Everett (Armani Jackson) and Blake (Bella Shepard) who’s lives change forever following the events of a raging wildfire. Bitten by what they believe is a large wolf in the midst of a stampede, the pair actually discover it was a supernatural being who has transformed them. Teaming up with fellow werewolves twins Luna (Chloe Rose Robertson) and Harlan (Tyler Lawrence Gray), who experienced a similar strange wildfire sixteen years ago, the pack attempt to discover just who is behind these connecting events.
As a 90s baby who grew up with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, I admit that I’m a bit of a sucker for supernatural shows. And there is something very intriguing about this new series thanks to the gripping central mystery of the shadowy supernatural creature – much like the mystery of Teen Wolf‘s series 1 big bad Alpha. As the central pack crosses paths with arson investigator Kristin Ramsey, the main narrative thread focuses on trying to uncover the identity of the arsonist behind the fire which awoke this supernatural beast, an event which is teased to have also happened sixteen years ago – tied to Luna and Harlan.
Those who are bitten receive strange phone calls teasing “it’s going to find you. It has to find you, to kill you, before the next full moon” whilst also experiencing strange visions. While the teens grapple with the secrets behind their transformations, the viewpoint is also curiously split with Westworld‘s Rodrigo Santoro park ranger, as he’s currently missing in the heat of the wildfire, chased by a seemingly supernatural creature (with HUGE claw marks). Interspersed with this thread are flashbacks to 16 years ago when the ranger first discovered Luna and Harlan amongst a wildfire, further hinting at a link between events.
However, despite two captivating narrative threads, the show has a certain tendency of fully leaning into the tropes of the genre. It is VERY teen drama-y, in a similar vein to Vampire Diaries and the CW shows, with plenty of stereotypical box ticking including overnight transformations which miraculously remove acne scars and add abs, incredibly angsty ‘me against the world’ individuals, the ‘I’m not like other girls’ trope, daddy issues and anxiety issues. Now this can get pretty grating, especially as it detracts from the central mystery and the similar tropes/clichés have been covered plenty of times before! However, there is a sweet theme of ‘finding your own pack’ woven throughout, especially regarding misfits Everett and Blake’s arc.
Also, despite the show’s marketing centering primarily on Sarah Michelle Gellar (which is what initially drew me to the series) the first two episodes are actually pretty light on the Buffy icon. Starring as LAFD arson Investigator Kristin Ramsey, Gellar is heading up one of the most intriguing threads with the arson case and will undoubtedly prove a larger part of the puzzle than initially revealed. Meanwhile, Westworld‘s Rodrigo Santoro is also another strong addition as ranger Garrett Briggs, who carries some pretty big emotional heft in his scenes. Out of the younger cast, Armani Jackson and Bella Shepard are the standouts so far – particularly Jackson’s endearing portrayal of Everett.
While the werewolf prosthetics and effects are definitely improved from the original Teen Wolf series – complete with the iconic glowing yellow eyes – so far there is somewhat of an over-reliance on some rather ropey visual effects. In particular, when it comes to the very heavily CGI’d shadowy werewolf, along with the opening wildfire animal stampede and attack. However, there is a surprising amount of horror included, particularly in the opening sequence, with faces being trampled in and individuals getting impaled by deer. Much of the rest of the underlying horror however relies on suspense, darkened settings, strange animalistic visions and seeing events from the monster’s point of view, which is fitting given the shows’ influences.
Verdict
With an intriguing central mystery, which has a tendency of unfortunately straying into distinctly tropey teen drama, Wolf Pack is so far a bit of a mixed bag. However, with only two establishing episodes provided for preview – and the promise of more Sarah Michelle Gellar – there’s clearly plenty more to come from Jeff Davis’ latest show. This is undoubtedly aimed at fans of teen supernatural shows such as The Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf, Wednesday, Riverdale and Marvel’s Runaways.
