An Unusual Ghost Story: Boo Bitch Season 1
Netflix’s show Boo Bitch is what you’d get if MTV’s Awkward had a baby with CBS’s Ghosts, with some Mean Girls mixed in. As the end of their senior year approaches, best friends Erika and Gia realize that they haven’t left their mark on high school at all. In fact, they’re practically invisible. They never go to any of parties, they’ve been left of the senior chat, their crushes don’t know who they are…in fact, they’re so anonymous that most people think Erika’s name is Helen Who, thanks to Riley, a mean girl in their grade. It’s their last chance to make a name for themselves and they’re going to do it by saying yes to opportunities whenever they present themselves. Starting with going to the party that Jake C., who Erika has had a crush on for ages, is throwing. Perhaps most importantly, Jake C. is finally single after breaking up with his on again off again girlfriend, who also happens to be mean girl Riley.
The night seems to be going well, they each manage to get closer to their respective crushes, the night takes an unexpected turn. When they wake up in the morning, with little memory of how the night ended, they trace their steps to figure out what happened, and discover a body, covered by a moose, wearing the Erika’s shoes. The friends conclude that Erika is now a ghost but can’t move on because she has unfinished business: kissing Jake C. They must figure out how to conclude this unfinished business before she fades away and is trapped in limbo forever.
It’s a strange premise for an even stranger show, but somehow it works. You will likely recognize both stars of this limited series – Lana Candor, the star of the To All the Boys movie series, plays Erika, and Zoe Coletti, who played Dakota on Fear the Walking Dead, plays Gia. Coletti is also currently playing Lucy on Only Murders in the Building. Erika and Gia spend a great deal of time trying to figure out the rules of being an animated ghost (a ghost that can still be seen and that can interact with the world around them like normal) so they can help Erika with her unfinished business. This brings them to the Afterlifers, a group of kids in school interested in the supernatural, who help fill in the rules of being a ghost. The show never establishes is the rules are true, it seems almost as though they are guessing and could be completely wrong, but the friends take the rules as law (because pop culture offered too many conflicting rules for them to know what else to do).
The Afterlifers are just some of the quirky characters. Erika’s parents are also pretty unique – they have been so worried about Erika’s quiet high school experience that they encourage her to go to parties and get a little wild. They go so far as offering to buy her alcohol and telling her to essentially do whatever she wants. Not to mention the accidental Christian group they go to before the Afterlifers for guidance.
Much like Cady in Mean Girls, Erika’s rise to popularity results in a shift in priorities. She becomes so obsessed with maintaining her new status and her new relationship that she begins neglecting Gia. While Erika befriends the popular kids, Gia continues to be all but invisible to everyone else, leaving her by herself during parties and ignored at school. Poor Gia feels more alone than ever – she can’t even get Erika to listen to her when she comes to her with a problem. And do Gia’s issues even matter when they need to help Erika live out her high school dreams before it is too late. Like Mean Girls, the show even culminates at prom with its very own version of the scene where Cady breaks the prom queen crown into many pieces and hands them out to the crowd.
The show isn’t particularly unique, but there’s something fun and relatable about Erika and Gia’s friendship and respective journeys – even if their use of acronyms is excessive and feels a bit over-the-top. If you’re looking for something quick and fun and appreciate the nuances of female friendships, this show is worth a watch. Plus a great plot twist near the end that I will not spoil.
Photo: Gia and Erika in Boo, Bitch. Courtesy of Netflix.
