DARE ME is a new thriller mystery series on Netflix. It aired on the USA Network in the US first and now internationally on Netflix. Most characters are teenagers but it’s a dark and brutal world. And yes, there is blood. Read more in our season 1 Dare Me review here!
DARE ME is a new series on Netflix. It’s a thriller mystery with most characters being teenage girls. You might think it’s too light and fluffy for you, but you would be very wrong. This new series on Netflix (which aired on the USA Network first) has a very dark and brutal plot.
From the very first episode, it reminded me of other series. However, I have to give Dare Me props for also being very much its own thing.
Continue reading our season 1 Dare Me review below. Based on the first four episodes of the season.
Pretty Little Liars goes Euphoria
Honestly, I feel that comparing Dare Me to the Pretty Little Liars series isn’t quite right. This new Netflix series is a lot darker and deals with heavy subjects in a more realistic and tough way. Don’t get me wrong, I actually enjoyed Pretty Little Liars (at first, anyway) and Dare Me reminds me of it in terms of plot.
We keep seeing glimpses from a bloody final scene. Basically, that’s the mystery part of this series; Who is bleeding and what happened? In many ways, this is exactly what happened with the Pretty Little Liars plot. Another obvious comparison is the awesome Netflix series I Am Not Okay With This. However, there’s nothing paranormal in this one.
You might like: Our season 1 review of I Am Not Okay With This here >
The very best comparison to explain Dare Me would be the HBO series Euphoria. If you haven’t watched that and you enjoy thriller-drama hybrids, then that is definitely for you. It’s dark, gritty and has some truly stellar performances. Especially by the younger cast members with Zendaya portraying the lead character. She is pure magic in it!
Fortunately, the young cast of Dare Me also manages to deliver some amazing performances. And they do get a lot of material to work with – just as it’s the case with Euphoria.
The young actors in Dare Me
Dare Me has a few key characters who I want to focus on in this part of our review. Honestly, they are the reason to watch this series on Netflix! Most of the cast are relatively young actors since the story takes place at a High School. Also, most are girls, since we’re dealing with cheerleaders and their young female coach.
The actual lead character is probably Addy Hanlon, who is portrayed by Herizen F. Guardiola. Addy is the born leader because she manages to stay calm and focuses on teamwork. Especially when things get a bit too intense or crazy. This probably has to do with her mom being a police officer – played perfectly by Amanda Brugel from The Handmaid’s Tale.
Addy’s best friend is Beth Cassidy portrayed by Marlo Kelly. Beth has a lot of issues, she’s forced to deal with. Her dad left the family and moved in with the neighbor across the street and started a new family. Yes, literally! Let’s just say that Beth’s mom isn’t dealing well with this. Marlo Kelly is brilliant as Beth. She has some tough scenes and nails them all!
Last, but not least, we have the cheerleader coach, Colette French. She’s played by Willa Fitzgerald (Scream: The TV Series) and also delivers a very nuanced portrait of a woman chasing her past and a better future.
I should also mention that the Dare Me series has a very homo-erotic vibe. To put it mildly! This is the case between both the best friends, Addy and Beth, as well as between Addy and Coach French. The latter is mostly due to Coach French wanting to keep Addy loyal while Beth and Addy seem to have a lot of intense and important history!
The friendship between Addy and Beth actually reminded me of the Angela Chase and Rayanne Graff characters in My So-Called Life. And yes, that is a huge compliment coming from me!
Watch Dare Me season 1 on Netflix now!
The creators of the Dare Me series are Megan Abbott and Gina Fattore. Megan Abbott wrote the book that this series is based on while Gina Fattore developed it for TV. However, Megan Abbott has also written episodes of this TV series version. Also, she wrote episodes of the TV series The Deuce.
Gina Fattore has a very impressive resume when it comes to writing and producing TV series. She was both a writer and producer on Californication and Gilmore Girls. Basically, two shows where sex and female friendship (respectively) played a huge part in the plot. Not a bad experience to carry into this new series.
Dare Me originally aired on the USA Network in the United States first. The final episode aired in early March 2020 and after this, the series was released globally to the rest of the world on Netflix. Exactly as it was the case with season 1 of the You TV series which aired on Lifetime first.
Of course, Netflix ended up taking over that series completely for season 2 of You. Maybe the same will happen with Dare Me which has been on the Top 10 list in many countries since its season 1 release.
My point is simply that you need to be careful of spoilers for Dare Me since it aired prior to its Netflix release. So it’s not only the Netflix binge-watchers who can spoil details of the plot for you.
Season 1 of Dare Me is out on Netflix from March 20, 2020.
Details
Creators: Megan Abbott, Gina Fattore
Stars: Herizen F. Guardiola, Marlo Kelly, Willa Fitzgerald, Amanda Brugel, Zach Roerig, Chris Zylka, Rob Heaps, Alison Thornton, Paul Fitzgerald, Tammy Blanchard, Herizen Guardiola
Plot
Relationships topple and loyalties flip when an icy new cheerleading coach takes over the high school squad ruled by Beth and her devoted BFF, Addy.
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