I’ve been reading Gretchen McNeil’s books religiously since I met her in 2013 and when she started talking about this series, she pitched it as John Hughes with a body count. I grew up on John Hughes’ movies and Gretchen is one of the few people on this planet that can get me to read murder and horror, so I was IN.
When I found out it was going to be developed into a TV show by BBC, I was SO excited and I’ve been anxiously awaiting its arrival on Netflix. It was just released this past Friday, July 31st and the second I got home from work, I turned on Netflix and settled in, refusing to go to bed until I had finished the show. I am SO insanely proud of Gretchen and SO happy for her because I thought the show was AWESOME.
STARRING:
Kim Adis, Bethany Antonia, Jessica Alexander, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Kit Clarke, Isaac Rouse, See full list here.
ABOUT THE SHOW:
Based on the two book series – Get Even and Get Dirty – by Gretchen McNeil, the show follows four girls at a British private school who form a secret group called DGM to enact revenge and justice on those at their school – teachers and students – who are bullies. Each girl – Bree, Margot, Olivia and Kitty – are very different groups and very different social cliques and bring different strengths to the table. When their next target is found murdered and their group is being framed for it, they launch into an investigation to find out who the killer really is.
REVIEW:
As I said above, I’m a huge fan of these books. They’re funny and witty but also full of so much tension and they’re just written so well. I re-read them in the week leading up to the release of the show on Netflix and I just had forgotten how seriously good they are. They’re so good that I was sitting there, reading the books, and kept thinking, why on earth can’t I remember who the killer is?! Gretchen does such an amazing job with her twists and turns that she had me convinced it was someone else even though I’D ALREADY READ THE BOOK! I was hoping beyond hope that they would do a decent job at capturing this in the show.
And I’m definitely impressed with how well they did.
There are definitely changes to the story in the show versus the books BUT I think that they really stuck to the soul of those novels and that is what made me enjoy it so much. The main story is there, the main characters are there – they just twisted it a little bit and it made me want to keep watching because I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, whether it would be something that I expected or something I didn’t expect and I really enjoyed that. I think it was a perfect blending of the familiar story so fans would recognize it but also some new things to keep us as hooked into seeing what happened next! I binged this entire show – all ten episodes – in one night, AFTER I got home from work, because I was SO hooked. I kept thinking, okay that is totally from the book and omg, that’s not from the book, WHAT! I think if it would’ve been an exact replica of the book, it would have worked for brand new watchers but maybe not so much for the fans. Changing things up a little bit actually really helped because it kept me on the edge of my seat.
What I think was truly great about the show were the characters because the four main characters were done SO WELL. I loved how close they were to their book counterparts – I loved each and every one of those girls in the books so I was so happy to see them come alive like that on screen. There were some minor changes to the characters – all the parents aren’t nearly as bad as they are in the book LOL – but it wasn’t a deterrent too much because Bree, Margot, Olivia and Kitty were still so close to the original characters. I admit, I was a little hesitant about them being British, seeing as it was made by BBC but honestly I think because they kept the characters SO close to their original personalities, it didn’t even matter. It really worked, American, British, whatever. It was really cool to see these characters come to life on screen because they truly were those characters. I felt like each girl read the book or something because they just got it.
If you are NOT a fan of the books, or you just haven’t had the chance to read them yet, I still think you’ll really enjoy the show. Its just fun. Its very funny but also definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. It gives me some Gossip Girl/Pretty Little Liars vibes and I absolutely love it. It has the teen drama down pat and then mixed with murder and mayhem? *chef kiss* Perfection. I think even if I had no idea who Gretchen was or what these books were, I’d still definitely binge it, especially because I’d have NO idea who the killer is and I’d want to know – they do a GREAT job in making you guess and go back and forth.
A super fun, addicting show was created and it couldn’t have been a better time. Its a super easy binge because it keeps you wanting more and with everyone stuck at home, looking for something new to watch, this is definitely something that should be on their list!
RATING:
5 out of 5 Stars
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