WARNING: The following contains minor spoilers for Daybreak Season 1, streaming now on Netflix.
If high school, with all of its social pitfalls, weren't difficult enough to navigate, just imagine enduring an apocalypse in which most of the adults are reduced to goo, or else mindless ghoulies, leaving those under the age of 18 to inherit the Earth -- or at least what's left of it. That's the general premise of Netflix's Daybreak, the new post-apocalyptic comedy adventure inspired by the graphic novel series by Brian Ralph.
In it, the cliques that once ruled the halls of Glendale High School have formed tribes in the six months since the bombs fell, and carved out their own territories in the California city, which they fiercely protect. While some teens. like protagonist and primary narrator Josh Wheeler (Colin Ford) have found ways to survive on their own, most fall into one group or another, and they're all effectively subservient to The Jocks.
We see in the first episode a map of Glendale that depicts at least 17 territories, but we don't meet all of the tribes in Season 1 (the Model U.N., for instance is mentioned, but never shown; they apparently have a cool tag, though). However, seven of them play a role in the story.
The Golf Team
Although they would argue they're athletes, Mona Lisa (Jeanté Godlock), second-in-command of The Jocks says otherwise: "They don't rate as athletes; they've got tiny balls." Nevertheless, they're the first group the audience encounters on Daybreak, and they play a central role in the early episodes, first as foes for Josh, and then as playthings for The Jocks. Don't get too attached too them.
The Jocks
The top of the pecking order, both in high school and in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, The Jocks answer to the near-mute Turbo Bro Jock (Cody Kearsley), football star turned teenage Immortan Joe. When not raiding other territories or forcing smaller tribes to offer tributes, the best athletes of Glendale High enjoy nothing more than watching "American Ninja Idol," in which contestants sing for the pleasure of Turbo, or else be fed to ravenous ghoulies.
Disciples of Kardashia
As their name suggests, the Disciples of Kardashia worship at the altar of ... Keeping Up With the Kardashians. While many of their fellow survivors of the apocalypse resort to savagery, tattered military fatigues and split ends, the DKs see no reason to forsake their sense of style. They also have a supply of India pale ale.
The 4-H Club
No mystery here: The members of the 4-H Club staked out their ground, on which they raise crops and even livestock (they offer sheep as tribute to Turbo), handy for surviving the apocalypse. They also have a bit of a sweet tooth, apparently, as they'll allow safe passage through their territory, in exchange for junk food.
The STEM Punks
Innovation is precisely what's need if society is to be rebuilt. Unfortunately for the STEM Punks, that trait is accompanied by a heaping helping of hubris. They attempt to assassinate Turbo early in the season, and seize control of The Jocks. However, they fail, miserably.
The Game Overs
While perhaps not as large as the other tribes, the Game Overs are nevertheless a force to be reckoned with. Serious gamers, they're able to use satellites to communicate with, and play against, other teens around the world, and get a sense of just how far-reaching this apocalypse is. (Spoiler: It's far.) But more than that, they're also skilled assassins who can kill from afar because, duh.
Cheermazons
Viewers might be forgiven if they thought the Cheermazons might be stereotypical cheerleaders from a lame teen comedy. No, this all-girl tribe is about empowerment, and kicking serious ass. The Cheermazons would be a great group to join, if you can survive the tryouts.
Daybreakers
Josh and his friends Anjelica (Alyvia Alyn Lind) and Wesley Fists (Austin Crute) rescue a group of teens without tribes from the mysterious, cannibalistic Baron Triumph, and brought them back to the relative safety of the mall. There, against all odds, they form their own tribe, and look to Josh as their leader. Their name, the Daybreakers, was devised by KJ (Chelsea Zhang) to signify that they survived for the break of a new day.
Streaming now on Netflix, Daybreak stars Matthew Broderick, Krysta Rodriguez, Colin Ford, Sophie Simnett and Austin Crute.