A Halloween initiation leaves a dance recruit unresponsive in The Body, Quinn Shephard’s 8-episode series, which arrived on Netflix today, November 11. What follows spreads beyond the squad into prophetic visions and panic throughout a Catholic school town.
Set in the Northeast in 2004, the story follows the Lions dance team, led by captains Anya Butler (Kristina Bogic) and Elise Zakaria (Sara Boustany). Their initiation for Grace Franklin (Sofia Wylie) involves ecstasy and a mock sacrifice. Grace falls into a coma, and the fallout reaches the school and the surrounding community.
The ritual’s request is specific. Elise says: “Prince of Darkness, take this most holy virgin sacrifice, and in exchange let us place at regionals!”
Shephard describes the tone as “gritty camp” and “a raunchy teen psychodrama with a dash of Catholic horror.” Netflix classifies the TV-MA series as a drama, with teen, mystery and LGBTQ themes.
The cast underwent an 8-week dance bootcamp, and Gabby Windey makes her screen acting debut as Coach Miller.
Reviews are mixed. Variety calls the series “brilliant” and “superb,” while The Hollywood Reporter says its pleasures are “spread too thin” across 8 hours. All 8 episodes are available now.
