One of the bigger and more pleasant surprises of 2020 has to be the new Netflix series Julie and the Phantoms. The series hails from famed director and choreographer Kenny Ortega, who has directed such personal faves as Newsies and Hocus Pocus, as well as the High School Musical and Descendants trilogies for the Disney Channel. So, I went into this expecting another fun, frothy musical fantasy and for the most part that's exactly what the show was, but hidden within the show are some moments that pack a very real emotional punch too.
The show centers on Julie (played by Madison Reyes), a young aspiring musician who has been struggling since her mother passed away a year ago. She hasn't been able to perform any music since then and is about to lose her spot in her school's prestigious music program. While she is going through things in her Mom's recording studio, she finds an old demo CD for a band called Sunset Curve. Playing the CD, she unwittingly brings forward the ghosts of three of the four members of the band, Luke (played by Charlie Gillespie), Alex (played by Owen Joyner) and Reggie (played by Jeremy Shada). All three tragically died at the tender age of 17 on the cusp of their first big break in 1995 and now suddenly find themselves in present day. Initially frightened, Julie soon warms up to the three ghosts that only she can see and hear. When she finally takes the plunge and plays a song her Mom wrote for her, they urge her to fight for her spot in her music program and when they decide to accompany her in her performance, they find much to their surprise everyone can see Luke, Alex and Reggie when they all perform together. When people start asking where the other band members suddenly came from, Julie hastily lies that they are actually holograms (which amazingly people actually believe).
Upon discovering this, Luke proposes that Julie join Sunset Curve and they keep performing. Instead, they form a new band called, you guessed it, Julie and the Phantoms while keeping the cover story that the other band members are holograms. Things hit a snag when Luke, Alex and Reggie discover that their surviving band member Trevor Wilson (played by Steve Bacic) took all the songs Luke wrote when he was alive, passed them off as his own and became super famous in the process, which enrages Luke. While trying to understand everything that is happening to them, Alex meets another ghost, Willie (played by Booboo Stewart) and the two hit it off while Willie helps him understand what it means to be a ghost. Perplexed by why they can be seen when they are performing, Willie takes them to see a much older and more powerful ghost Caleb Covington (played by Cheyenne Jackson), who takes an interest in the band for his own sinister reasons. They are initially interested in Caleb's offer to perform in his Club for Hollywood ghosts because they think he, as a much more powerful ghost, can help them get even with Trevor. Things take a turn when they realize Caleb's true intentions and if they don' go through with their deal it can threaten their very afterlives.
This show is an adaptation of a Brazillian T.V series of the same name which I have never had the opportunity to see, but apparently has a dedicated following online. But clearly watching this series, which I devoured all nine half hour episodes in pretty much one sitting), Kenny Ortega and his co-creators have very much made the show their own. The show is very much directed at a much more youthful demographic than I happen to fall into, but I still found plenty to enjoy. They pull off a very careful balancing act between the more humorous moments and the more heartfelt moments while keeping everything from becoming too cheesy or cutesy, which was a relief for me (although the show does have a few kinda cheesy moments). The plotting of the season is tight with several plot lines going on at once. Among the ones I didn't mention, Julie's younger brother Carlos's attempts to prove the house is haunted is very cute, something Reggie is only happy to help him prove (Reggie explains he's doing it for all the kids whose parents didn't believe them). Equally sweet is the burgeoning romance between Alex and Willie. After years of having to settle with including coded gay characters in his movies he made with the House of Mouse, it's nice to see the openly gay Kenny Ortega finally able to include a couple of out gay characters in this show that celebrates it. I also love just how inclusive the overall show is, including the fact that the lead character is Latina.
Still, not everything quite lands in the show, but they are small nitpicks. The resident mean girl at Julie's school, Carrie (played by Savannah Lee May), is irritatingly one note and exists just to antagonize Julie. With a little finessing, she could have been an interesting character, but as it is in this first season, I was just annoyed any time she showed up. The other nitpick is the whole cover story that the band are actually holograms is extremely flimsy and nearly everyone takes it at face value, even Julie's dad (played by Carlos Ponce). I suppose with this one, I could just take it as Buffy logic with everyone just choosing to believe it because the truth is just too much to accept. I did appreciate that Julie's best friend, Flynn (played by Jadah Marie) sees through the ruse immediately, forcing Julie to come clean with the truth. I also find it interesting that it doesn't occur to any of the characters how they are going to explain how Julie is performing with musicians that have been dead for 25 years since it's only a matter of time until someone recognizes them. But like I said, these are but minor quibbles.
The cast of the show is nothing short of phenomenal. I can pinpoint the exact moment I fell in love with this show and that is when Madison Reyes performs "Wake Up", the song Julie's mom wrote for her. Reyes injects that already great song with so much passion and emotion I was genuinely moved watching her perform it. And she matches that early promise throughout the rest of the season, giving her character such a grounded charm that I loved. She also nails the more emotional side of her character, especially when it comes to Julie' grief over losing her mother. Charlie Gillespie is equally great as Luke. As the series unfolds, the show reveals bits of Luke's backstory that Charlie just nails as the show reveals that Luke had a falling out with his folks that was never resolved before he died, and his deep regrets revealed in the poignant and heartbreaking song "Unsaid Emily". I challenge to watch Charlie Gillespie perform that song while looking into his sorrowful puppy dog eyes and not turn into a weeping wreck. It's a powerful moment in the show that caught me completely off guard because the majority of the show is so upbeat and joyful.
Owen Joyner brings a lot of heart to the character of Alex, who does a great job portraying his character's anxieties and his discomfort with change. He also played well off Booboo Stewart's far more laid back Willie. Booboo Stewart does a fine job as Willie, who makes a nice counterpoint to Alex as he shows them that as ghosts the usual rules they had to follow when they were alive no longer apply, such as being able to run around a closed art museum. Jeremy Shada is very endearing as Reggie, who provides much of the comic relief among the four characters as he enjoys the simple things in his afterlife, whether it is appreciating that in Caleb's club they can actually eat food or his decidedly one sided friendship with Julie's dad (who can neither see nor hear Reggie). Of course, I also felt for Reggie when he finds out that not only had they made more Star Wars movies in the 25 years the guys were gone, but that they had killed off Han Solo (and laughed when after he left, Luke warned the others, "Please, do not mention JarJar!"). Carlos Ponce as Ray is a refreshingly supportive father to Julie, who only wants the best for her and help her in any way he can. I really liked Jadah Marie as Flynn, who adds a fun spunkiness to her character in every scene she's in and is a dedicated best friend to Julie. She really brings such a goofy and fun energy to all her scenes and I hope the show expands on her character in the next season. Last, but certainly not least is Cheyenne Jackson stealing every scene he is in as the sinister Caleb Covington who conspires to capture the three members of Sunset Curve to be part of his club's house band for eternity. Jackson just relishes every scene as he tries to get the band members to join his club and it is a joy to watch. He has two great musical numbers in the show and they are both amazing, utilizing his singing and dancing skills fantastically.
I was initially interested in the show based on the trailer and premise and was really looking forward to seeing it as I was in the mood for a fun musical fantasy, only to be caught off guard by the genuine emotional depths contained within. Then they combine this with some genuinely great music performed entirely by the cast themselves makes this a show that is not only fun but also genuinely great. I devoured the entire series yesterday afternoon and evening (with only 9 episodes, each 30 mins long, that wasn't too hard). As with everything, one's mileage can vary, but I loved every minute. My only question left is, when is season 2? Because it can not get here soon enough for me.
