Let’s talk about the strange, glorious collision of Catholic school uniforms and raunchy teen horror. Netflix’s latest offering, The Body, is not just another entry in the teen drama genre—it’s a calculated provocation, a neon-lit sermon on girlhood, hysteria, and the absurdity of trying to fit rebellion into a chapel’s pews. And honestly? I think this is exactly what we needed in 2023.
When Quinn Shephard described her show as a ‘playful spin on all the nightmares of my own teenage-dom,’ I couldn’t help but laugh. Because isn’t that the truth? Teenage years are a series of nightmares wrapped in glitter and bad decisions. But what makes The Body particularly fascinating is how it weaponizes the sacred. Catholic schools are supposed to be bastions of discipline, moral clarity, and maybe a little bit of guilt. Yet here we are, with a dance troupe at one such institution descending into prophetic visions and mass hysteria. It’s like Carrie meets The Crucible, but with more glitter and fewer sensible shoes. What does that say about our collective psyche? That we’re still obsessed with the idea of girls as both sinners and saviors, even if we’re too cool to admit it?
Shephard’s fixation on Salem witch trials and their modern parallels is a masterstroke. In an era where conspiracy theories and political tribalism feel like the new norm, framing teenage rebellion as a kind of ‘holy’ chaos is genius. It’s not just about girls being bad—this is about the system failing them. The show’s logline mentions ‘mass hysteria,’ but I’d argue it’s really about the institutional structures that fuel it. A Catholic school, after all, is a microcosm of power dynamics: authority figures, rigid rules, and the ever-present threat of being labeled ‘sinful.’ What happens when the girls in charge of upholding those rules start questioning them? Chaos, obviously. But also, a catharsis. And isn’t that what we crave in entertainment these days? A release valve for all the things we’re not allowed to say out loud?
The cast list alone is a who’s who of rising stars and cult favorites. Sofia Wylie, Gabby Windey from The Traitors—this isn’t just a show; it’s a vibe. And let’s be honest, the ‘raunchy’ aspect isn’t just for shock value. It’s a deliberate choice to subvert expectations. Catholic schools are supposed to be about purity, but The Body leans into the messiness of teenage sexuality with the same fervor as it does religious iconography. It’s a bold move, and one that I think will resonate with Gen Z, who’ve grown up in a world where sacred and profane are often indistinguishable. What many people don’t realize is that this isn’t just a story about girls gone wild—it’s a story about the collapse of boundaries, both literal and metaphorical.
And then there’s the question of tone: ‘gritty camp.’ That phrase alone makes me want to scream into the void. Gritty camp is the perfect descriptor for a show that’s equal parts Jennifer’s Body and The Virgin Suicides. It’s the kind of tone that demands you lean into the absurdity. When Shephard says she’s interested in ‘girlhood as a religious experience,’ I think she’s onto something deeper than just a clever hook. Girlhood is a ritual, a series of rites of passage that feel like they’re performed in secret. The Catholic Church has its own rituals, its own hierarchies, its own way of making you feel guilty for existing. The Body is a mirror held up to that world, showing how the two collide in ways that are both horrifying and hilarious.
But here’s the thing: this show isn’t just for teens. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider, like the rules they were taught didn’t make sense, like the system was designed to fail them. And in that sense, The Body is more than a psychodrama—it’s a manifesto. A declaration that the only way to survive the madness is to lean into it, to make it your own. I’m not sure if I’ll watch it, but I’m sure as hell going to be thinking about it. Because in a world where everything feels scripted, sometimes the most powerful act is to break the script—and let the chaos begin.
