DOMINO DAY Series One
Promising Young Witches
UK BBC Three/iplayer, streaming now
Creator Lauren Sequeira
Cast Siena Kelly, Alisha Bailey,
Percelle Ascott, Poppy Lee Friar
EPISODES 1.01-1.06 Dating’s a nightmare anyway, but add in apps, social media and the unquenchable thirst for human lifeforces and it is truly Hell on Earth. This is the unfortunate situation Domino Day’s eponymous protagonist finds herself in. As a witch with a vampiric edge, she not only has to endure dull small talk, but needs to feast upon her dates to sustain herself.
Domino has recently moved to Manchester and is navigating her way through the apps while working as a barista. Knowing that she has no choice but to make some people her victims, she decides it might as well be douchebags and, Promising Young Woman style, seeks out the worst men at her disposal to prey upon.
Things are thrown into disarray by the introduction of both dreamboat Leon (Percelle Ascott) and a chic plant-shop-running coven, who let Domino know she is a lamia whose powers may soon get the best of her if she doesn’t learn to control them.
The show is best compared to fare from the other side of the Atlantic, having the gothic romance and social satire of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and The Vampire Diaries. While Domino doesn’t quite have Buffy’s wit, there’s a core intelligence that makes Domino a worthy successor to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s hero. The budget doesn’t quite extend to the production values of its American predecessors, of course, but Siena Kelly’s performance has a prestige quality, possessing an emotional complexity and physical dexterity that makes the series feel top-tier.
The show manages to pull off being sexy, scary and smart while reinventing the lamia mythology for the modern age. As Domino’s past catches up with her, her story is packed with electrifying twists. These six episodes feel like a solid foundation for a very promising future. Leila Latif
The show manages to pull off being sexy, scary and smart
A man tells Domino he “normally isn’t into black girls”, which sadly actually happened to showrunner Lauren Sequeira.