Prolific best-selling author V.E. Schwab made her television debut with Netflix's First Kill, and given the popularity of her books, the hype was high. Longtime fans of were excited to get Schwab on the big-screen. Unfortunately for those fans, First Kill was deservedly nixed after its debut season.
When First Kill was announced, it was very anticipated due to its queer representation and character diversity. It was supposed to add sapphic layers and complexity to the classic vampire trope and overdone forbidden love storyline. With Schwab herself writing the pilot, viewers were hopeful -- but the other seven episodes being written by other people and a loose plot because it was based on a short story meant there was plenty of room for error.
The first promotional images looked promising. The key art promoting the series had Schwab's classic red and black color palette, and it looked dramatic and sophisticated. The show itself was unfortunately the exact opposite -- far too campy and melodramatic. While melodrama has its place in television, it wasn't what people were wanting out of a Schwab project. But setting aside the fans, the show also didn't appeal to Netflix viewers in general.
Some may blame the advertising, but the reality is that First Kill just wasn't that great. The storylines felt cheap, the romance was rushed with no substance and the monster lore was poorly thought out. Sarah Catherine Hook and Imani Lewis -- who played the central couple of Juliette and Calliope -- had chemistry, but chemistry alone can't save a series. And while First Kill initially breached Netflix's Top 10 in its first week, Netflix also looks at series completion, and First Kill fell way too short of the standard.
The show's impressive numbers within the first month of release turned out to be Schwab's fanbase. Her fans can be fiercely loyal, but Schwab had to take to her social media to remind people that if they wanted a second season, they had to finish the first one. That proves completion rates were already dropping off early in the run. The series just didn't have the power to keep people interested outside of those already devoted fans.
V.E. Schwab has a very unique authorial tone, and the trickiest part about adaptations is trying to successfully translate that to the screen. This is always a challenge, even if an author is closely involved with the project. First Kill did not successfully capture the qualities that made Schwab's original story popular, so of course it couldn't communicate them to broader TV audiences. Schwab has several other works that could make great TV series, so hopefully she'll get another opportunity that better plays to her strengths.
First Kill is now streaming on Netflix.