Mortel: Season 1 – Netflix Review

MORTEL is a new Netflix series from France. It’s a teen supernatural sci-fi production and it’s a lot better than I expected. Season 1 features just six episodes so it’s a quick binge-watch. This Netflix series is especially good at diversity representation. Read our full Mortel review here!

Mortel is a new Netflix series in the “teen supernatural” subgenre, but it should offer something for most audiences. Sure, many of the characters are pretty unlikable but then again, they are teenagers! Weren’t we all pretty obnoxious to most people at that age. 

Season 1 of Mortel is 6 episodes that each feature a runtime of around an hour, so you can watch it fairly quickly. By the end of episode 1, you will have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. And during episode 2 of Mortel, you will get a scene reminiscent of that iconic Carrie scene from the adaptions of Stephen King’s book.

Read more about this French supernatural teen series in the rest of our Mortel Season 1 review below.

The core cast

The primary character of Mortel is the broody Sofiane, who is portrayed by Carl Malapa. Sofiane is looking for his brother, Reda, who appears to have run away from home. However, Sofiane refuses to believe that his brother would stay out of touch for so long (he’s been gone for four months) and knows something is wrong.

He teams up with Victor, played by Némo Schiffman, in what becomes a very unlikely duo. Victor is known as “the suicide kid” because he attemped to take his own life. Clearly, he’s dealing with a lot of heavy issues. 

By a very strange (but believable) turn of events, Victor and Sofiane end up working together and even receive powers. I don’t want to give away too much about how that happens. I will, however, say that their powers only work when they are together and they have very different powers.

Finally, we have Luisa, who is played wonderfully by Manon Bresch. She lives with her grandmother who is one tough lady. She’s into voodoo magic and actually makes a living by helping people (sometimes by pretending and other times by dealing with actual evil spirits). Luisa is a brilliant young girl who wants to make something of her life. She’s a true hero from the beginning!

Representation matters!

Mortel is a French production and the story takes place in a suburb which means the cast features people of color. Most of the characters are kids of immigrants from Africa or the Middle East. To some people this may not matter, but representation does matter. And French people of color certainly deserve to have stories featuring them as well. 

Also, the plot of Mortel deals with depression and other serious issues that teenagers do sometimes deal with to a much larger degree than most would think. Still, the actual plot of this Netflix series is a supernatural one, so don’t worry, this isn’t some heavy drama. 

It does however deal with some very heavy subjects which includes suicide and bullying.

Watch season 1 of Mortel on Netflix now!

Mortel is a Netflix series created by Frédéric Garcia. In the past, Frédéric Garcia has written 22 episodes of Skam France which means he clearly knows how to write for the teen audience.

And yes, Mortel really is a teen series but I always think it’s good for adults to check out these series as well. After all, we are all dealing with teenagers in some regards – or we will once they’re a little older. Besides, Mortel really is entertaining and a lot better than the trailer.

Honestly, from watching the Mortel trailer, my expectations were really low. I was very pleasantly surprised that this story turned out to be interesting and engaging. Even if the characters will drive you a little bit crazy with their teen craziness at times. I mean, they are also dealing with some pretty crazy situations, which gives them the right to freak out more than usually.

Mortel: Season 1 is out on Netflix globally from November 21, 2019.

Details

Creator: Frédéric Garcia
Stars: Manon Bresch, Carl Malapa, Némo Schiffman, Corentin Fila, Fabien Giameluca, Katie Anne Rich

Plot

After making a deal with a supernatural figure, two high schoolers emerge with extraordinary powers and join forces to solve a murder.