The innocents Season One
Romeo And Who-do-we-get
released OUT NOW! 2018 | sVOd Creators Hania elkington, simon duric Cast sorcha Groundsell, Percelle ascott, Guy Pearce, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, lauren Birn, sam Hazeldine
We should be grateful that The Innocents was produced by Netflix rather than finding a home on a run-of-the-mill US TV network, seeing as its central story – of two madly-in-love teenagers who discover that one of them has supernatural powers – seems like the perfect fodder for a channel like the CW. Not that the CW is evil or anything; it’s carved a fine niche making such series, and long may it continue to do so. But Netflix has given The Innocents the seriousness, gravitas and exposure that it truly deserved, not to mention a decent budget that allows it to skip from Yorkshire to London to the misty fjords of Norway. For a show about a teenage girl who can shapeshift, this commitment to quality drama and verisimilitude is admirable.
The series is also gifted with two stunning leads. The magnetic Sorcha Groundsell plays June, who discovers she can turn into another human if she’s touching them, sending them toppling into a coma and her screaming in the other direction. Percelle Ascott (once the geeky sidekick Benny on Wizards Vs Aliens, and shaping up to be a bloody big star) is Harry, her One True Love, who finds he’s bitten off a bit more than he can chew when he runs away from home with June and finds she keeps swapping skins. Together the two get into all sorts of scrapes as June’s dad tries to hunt them down, her mother freaks out in a spooky commune in Norway under the care of Guy Pearce’s enigmatic scientist, and June tries not to shapeshift into new people at the drop of a hat.
Watching this modern-day Romeo and Juliet trying to stay together against formidable odds is captivating; wouldn’t you be freaked out if your tiny girlfriend suddenly became a hefty, hairy Norwegian bloke? There are wonderful head-scratching moments to ponder once you’ve finished watching, too, such as the craziness of shifting into a pregnant woman and suddenly feeling a baby kicking inside you, or whether you’d be tempted to don someone else’s body to grab some sneaky nookie. Moral quandary klaxon!
After threatening to lose its way two thirds into the series – you do get a little fed up of seeing the kids getting betrayed and having to run for their lives over and over – the final episode of the eight sets things firmly back on track to deliver a deeply satisfying conclusion... not to mention a totally unforeseen cliffhanger. Which means the campaign to get The Innocents a second series starts here: although Netflix would be mad not to have committed to one by the time you read this. This is a supernatural teen drama that deserves to keep on running; rather like June herself, it will get under your skin.
Filming locations included the pubs The Royal Shepherd and The Cock And Bottle in Skipton, North Yorkshire.