Wolf Pack review: Sarah Michelle Gellar can’t save this supernatural teen drama
Paramount Plus' latest series comes off as a regurgitation of previous hits instead of a fresh take on the genre
TV Reviews Sarah Michelle Gellar
Since the premiere of genre-defining staples like Sabrina The Teenage Witch and Buffy The Vampire Slayer in the mid-to-late ’90s, the supernatural drama has been a consistent force in teen-oriented television. From Buffy to The Vampire Diaries to newer entries like Stranger Things, the reliable formula of “soapy teen romance plus pulpy B-movie action plus supernatural elements” has been a go-to for both cable and network television, and MTV’s latest endeavor, Wolf Pack, is certainly no exception. Yet despite all the requisite pieces for success, Wolf Pack comes off as a regurgitation of previous hits instead of a fresh take, even with the presence of Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Starring Armani Jackson, Bella Shepard, Chloe Rose Robertson, and Tyler Lawrence Gray, Wolf Pack follows introverted, anxiety-ridden California high schooler Everett (Jackson) whose life is turned upside down when a mysterious injury during a wildfire makes him the target of a terrifying supernatural creature. Feeling an inexplicable draw to fellow student Blake (Shepard), the two reluctantly join forces to investigate their newfound abilities, allying with siblings Luna (Robertson) and Harlan (Gray) along the way, all while dodging questions from no-nonsense fire investigator Kristin Ramsey (Gellar).
On paper, Wolf Pack has all the requisite elements that have seen success in the past: a young, attractive cast; a gritty aesthetic and penchant for violence (the first episode features some surprisingly graphic kills in a remarkably frightening extended wildfire sequence); and soapy plot points that often surround romance and coming-of-age narratives. But where Wolf Pack fundamentally fails is as a teen drama, and the way the first two episodes (the only ones screened for critics) are structured provides virtually no warmth or relatability in its core four.
Sure, we learn plenty of rap-sheet facts about the characters: Everett has severe anxiety; Blake has a younger brother with autism; Luna has abandonment issues; Harlan is gay. Technically, each of these people has a neat and tidy reason for viewers to latch on and/or understand them . But unfortunately, there simply isn’t the charisma or personality to make any of these protagonists worth watching.
Equal blame can be split among direction, writing, and acting. It’s not a particularly forgiving script for the young cast of relatively up-and-coming talent, who are painfully eclipsed when scene partners with seasoned performers like Sarah Michelle Gellar. They don’t have any particular chemistry with each other, either. Comparisons to Teen Wolf (another MTV-produced werewolf teen drama) are inevitable, but what made that particular series a success were the lovable, often funny and romance-driven heroes. Wolf Pack has none of that crucial coziness.
Ironically, Wolf Pack’s adherence to the reliable structural format by design isolates Sarah Michelle Gellar as a character. In a conventional teen drama format, her older investigator Ramsey would serve as a mentor-type, given how infrequently a single adult is major player in a teen drama. As such, she often feels tacked-on to the story, popping up every 15 minutes or so to demand that one of the four leads come in for questioning and fill in some blanks about what happened during the wildfire.
The specificity and frequency of that particular request becomes frustrating when it’s the only element of Ramsey that we get in the first two episodes: She quite literally does not appear unless pursuing the high schoolers and trying to get their statements from the fire. This is the issue in nabbing a charismatic star whose sheer presence invites viewership but who doesn’t necessarily mesh well with the rest of the cast. She begins, simply, to feel underutilized—or worse, shoehorned in.
What’s frustrating about Wolf Pack’s lack of substance is that with the cancelation of Legacies, the ending of Stranger Things, and Riverdale coming to a close all within a year of each other, there’s a prime spot for the taking as far as supernatural teen dramas. If ever there was a time for Wolf Pack, a gritty show adapted from a book series that stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, it’s now. But as much as the cards are stacked in Wolf Pack’s favor, at least over its first two episodes, this just isn’t a project with enough bite.
Wolf Pack premieres January 26 on Paramount+.
27 Comments
A single colony of gerbils will typically construct an extensive network of burrows, with tunnels leading to food stores, nesting areas, and escape routes. These burrows can go as deep as 1.7 meters and stretch across 6 to 8 meters.
You don’t sound reformed. You sound, indeed, like a gerbil shill and apologist!
I’ve caused harm to the entire pocket pet community through my past hurtful comments about hamsters.
Well, don’t bring your apology tour here. I’m sure the Petco website would welcome your cute gerbil “facts.” This site is for serious pop culture commentary, not rodentia trivia, and not your bleeding heart hamster regret.
A gerbil in the wild can leap distances upwards of 14 feet in order to evade a predator.
You win, Gerbil, you win.
Richard Gere want to know where you live
The Golden Age is over and it’s never coming back, is it?
Us dumb guys won so it’s all stuff like Yellowstone spin-offs, Reacher, Tulsa King, and video game adaptations until the end of time, baby!!! Y’all had a great send-off for Prestige TV with Better Call Saul but it’s over Johnny.
Atlanta and BCS ending in the same year really does feel like the kiss-off to an era doesn’t it
And Mr. Inbetween!Right, guys? Mr. Inbetween too?Fine, whatever, I don’t even care.
And what an amazing send-off too, right?[SPOILERS]It felt like a capper on the entire era of “Bad TV Men” that started with The Sopranos, and was soon joined by The Shield / Breaking Bad / Mad Men / etc. etc. etc. It was poignant that finally, at the end of the Golden Age of TV, one of these Bad TV Men owned up to their shit and willingly paid the price for it. They didn’t get away with it, they didn’t die in a blaze of glory…they just did the right thing and all they got as a reward was one final cigarette break with a friend.
Hey man, don’t knock the Video Game Adaptations.Once we’ve run out of good books and comics to steal, that’s where the IP is, brother.
As opposed to awful woke shit like the Velma cartoon?
If you have a strong opinion on Velma you need help. I saw a trailer and it didn’t look appealing to me so I simply ignored it. Pretty easy to do I highly recommend it. Saves you a lot of stress and time.
Good, I hope you give that advice to every asshole that whines about Fox news and Tucker Carlson. “Just dont watch it”.
Does Donald Trump intend to take policy cues from Velma if he somehow ever becomes president again?
This asshole troll has a strong opinion on whatever culture war bullshit can get them a response. (I’m guilty of feeding it, too.)
With all respect the actual Golden Age was over 50 years ago (I encourage you to look it up, there was some great stuff). Every single decade since has had little Silver or Bronze Ages of varying quantity and quality but there has always been something great (or even enjoyably mediocre) the entire time. In 20 years you will be reading people’s comments about the current Golden Age and you’ll grit your teeth…Frankly, there’s too much TV out there and even a wealth of suppossedly great TV is not a good thing because as Harlan Ellison warned us, that just means people watch more TV and there is so much more to life out there.I’m personally ecstatic for the implosion.
Never again shall we see the like of Veronica Mars, Jane the Virgin, The Vampire Diaries, The OC. An era has truly passed.
Are you talking about 1947-1960 Golden Age or the 1999-2019 Gold Age that ended when the Streaming Wars began?
Buffy the Werewolf Slayer?
If this show doesn’t find a way to put in a guest spot for Seth Green they are fucking up.
I ended up kinda liking the tv show Angel more than Buffy. The final season of Angel especially has a lot of great episodes. While the final season of Buffy…ehhhh. I guess the episode where Giles and Principal Wood try to kill Spike is quality.
Is SMG’s character with law enforcement? I Googled fire investigators and it’s very case-by-case on whether or not they’re cops or firefighters. I only ask because she has a gun in the trailer.Where is our Postal Inspection Service show?
Too bad you haven’t revised this review after the last few episodes, especially about SMG’s character. It’s a slow build. Remember them? Patience
This review is so spot on. I’ve watched through the third episode and I went searching for reviews in the hopes that the show might improve, or at least that we would see more of Gellar. We finally get more screen time from Rodrigo Santoro – the siblings guardian – in the third episode, and like Gellar, the adult steals the spotlight. The teens just aren’t interesting at all. I appreciate how pro-LGBTQ the show seems to be, but it’s not enough to keep me tuning in.