We’ve watched enough children’s television shows to know that it’s hard to find shows that appeal to kids but don’t bother parents. When one of those shows comes on, we tend to overlook the flaws because we’re just happy to be able to watch a show with our kids that won’t make us want to leave the room. One of those shows, which debuted in October, is launching a new season.
I WOKE UP A VAMPIRE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Initial shot: A shot of a city skyline. Two teenagers lie on a ledge at the top of a tall building.
The essence: Kev Gardner (Niko Ceci) and Dylan Helsing (Zebastin Borjeau) are contemplating the “game changer” that will be starting high school, when their friend Carmie Henley (Kaileen Angelic Chang) flies to the ceiling and lands awkwardly. Carmie is a vampling (a mixed one, meaning one of her parents was mystical and the other human) and is testing her flight powers. She believes that her powers are getting stronger. Dylan warns her that, although she is no longer a Mixture Hunter or Mystics, there will be other people after her. Plus, you have to think about her biological mother, a shapeshifter.
But as far as Carmie is concerned, her mother is Aasha (Ipsita Paul), not the shapeshifter (Charlotte Legault). “There will be no mashup dramas this year,” she says. Of course, that doesn’t stop him from having nightmares about the shapeshifter.
On her first day at Stoker High School (get it?), Carmie is excited, Kev gets bumped into by older kids like he’s invisible, and Dylan feels like he lacks purpose. Carmie’s old rival, Leanna Timmons (Ana Araujo), is busy making TikToks to make it big on her first day. Carmie has a meet-cute with a sophomore named Tristian (Will Coombs) who already has her heart racing.
Kev’s day is made when he goes to the comic book store and The Collector (Kris Siddiqi) tells him that he received a package; is the comic he wrote and drew. She is a vampling named Carmela. Carmie rushes to the store when Kev calls her with the news about her (she is seen in the background of one of Leanna’s videos), but then gets angry at her when she sees Carmela. Kev doesn’t think this character looks or acts like Carmie, but she disagrees.
Of course, what bothers her is that she doesn’t want anyone at the high school to know she’s a Blended. But when Leanne’s video goes viral, her cover is blown.
What shows will it remind you of? We will stick with our statement from the first season that I woke up a vampire It is a cross between The boy knows the world and The Umbrella Academy.
Our opinion: While the main characters of I woke up a vampirecreated by Tommy Lynch, they’re at a new school and Carmie faces new enemies, the show still has the same light and hopeful tone it had in season 1. Carmie is still exploring her powers, although she’s still not sure she wants to. full vampling yet, unlike her friend Madison Spencer (Aaliyah Cinello), who has moved to the woods to embrace all of her mystical powers.
Also like the first season, there are parts of the show that, as parents of the child for whom the show is written, will irritate you a little. The kids talk fast, the acting is all over the place, and some of the characters are too precocious for their own good.
But we like that the stories of the three main characters have moved forward a bit and that they all face different challenges. We hope that Dylan will be given more to do once he finds a purpose and an extracurricular club that makes sense to him; Otherwise, we’re not sure where his character is headed. But it looks like Kev and Carmie are on particular paths in Season 2, which helps us invest in the story instead of just scrolling through our phone while our tween watches the episodes.
As we learn at the end of the first episode, Tristian is there for a reason, not just to be a cute sophomore that Carmie can swoon over. He’s yet to determine how that translates to the conflict in the new season.
What age group is this for?: There is some mild mystical violence and some foreboding, but we think the show is good for kids ages 7 and up.
Parting Shot: Tristian sees the video of Carmie running, says, “I found you, vampling,” transforms into a bat and flies away.
Sleeping star: We still like Aaliyah Cinello as Madison, but how will she be a part of the story if she’s in the woods?
Most pilot line: Dylan destroys a couple of computers at a computer club when his hunting instincts kick in, but it looks like he won’t be charged for them…
Our call: TRANSMIT IT. I woke up a vampire It’s still a fun show for your teens and tweens to watch, and there’s still plenty of mythology to keep parents interested.
Joel Keller@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and technology, but make no mistake: he’s a couch potato. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.comFast Company and other places.
