Netflix has carved out a robust catalogue of young-adult TV offerings: Never Have I Ever, XO Kitty, Heartbreak High, Heartstopper and Glamorous among many others. Their latest addition, Geek Girl, feels a bit like the result of feeding all these previous iterations to a content-consuming beast in the underbelly of Netflix, who has chomped them up and regurgitated a new 10-parter.
Based on Holly Smale’s series of books, it stars House of The Dragon's Emily Carey as Harriet Manners, a bumbling and often ill-at-ease 16-year-old who tells us via narration that she's the geek in question. If we weren't clear on what that might mean, Geek Girl puts up the definition of the word to show us.
What unfolds over the following episodes, which come in at a tight half-hour a piece, is a textbook wish-fulfilment fantasy. Harriet is spotted by the underlings of a hotshot modelling agent while out for the day on a school trip to London Fashion Week. (Do such things really take place?)
Harriet is ushered into the dazzling world of high fashion, but naturally there are spills along the catwalk. There’s the strain this big break puts on her bestie-ship – bound by the holy laws of interlocking matching friend necklaces – with Natalie (Rochelle Harrington), whose dream of being a supermodel Harriet unwittingly upends through the sheer force of her own symmetrical face and je ne sais quoi It Girl quality.
Then there’s the handsome, doe-eyed Nick Park (Liam Woodrum), who Harriet keeps on finding herself alone with, yet struggles to find something witty to say to. All the while, she must try to balance her work at what looks like the Sex Education school.
As Harriet navigates her initial reluctance to being told her life's about to change overnight, she embarks on a coming-of-age tale. "It isn’t a makeover, it’s a full metamorphosis," we're told via voiceover.
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Given that Tudum only offered up a random assortment of episodes out of chronological order for review, it's hard to get a complete sense of how Geek Girl flows. It’s safe to say though that a total take-down of the ickier elements of the modelling industry this is not.
But from a no-thoughts-just-vibes perspective, it's all very Netflix YA. Everyone is preternaturally beautiful – even the school headteacher – and speaks in a litter of clichés. If you've dipped in these waters before, the temperature is still comfortably lukewarm.
Despite its very blatant derivative faults, there is still some fun to be had with Geek Girl. Much of it comes from the ludicrous rendering of the world of high fashion, which hits like a mashup of the least egregious episode of America's Next Top Model and the fashion-montage scene in The Lizzie McGuire Movie. One of Harriet's catwalk outfits even looks a bit like the igloo dress.
There's a lot of other things it will remind you of too, and it does catch some of the fun of what it's aping. On Netflix, it shares much DNA with Glamorous – although this show doesn't squander its marquee talent in Carey quite like that did with Kim Cattrall.
Carey’s central performance is sweetly sure of itself, even if the show does fall into the trap of telling us how socially awkward and incompetent this very clearly charismatic person is. The only surprising thing about Carey’s casting is that it's hard to imagine much crossover between this show and the House of the Dragon fanbase.
Once you get used to Harriet’s voiceover, which can expound lines like "this is a story for anyone who’s ever wanted to be someone different," the funnier self-commentary glimmers through.
The Infinity Models London agency lackeys are another bright spot in the cast. The catty, quirky double act of Wilbur (Emmanuel Imani) and Betty (Hebe Beardsall) provide what feel like the most self-aware moments of the show. Imani nails lines which look plainly ludicrous on paper, like: “Okay my little ponies, I want to see some trotting!” But they do still largely remind us of the duplicate sassy double of Julian and Luc in Emily in Paris.
The neat half-hour episodes move along at a clip and, with that core target audience who have loved all those other Netflix YA shows before, this will go down easy. It would just be refreshing if the streaming giant could offer the teens of today something that's a bit less bland.
Geek Girl is available to stream on Netflix.
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Previously Deputy TV Editor at Digital Spy and, before that, a TV Reporter at The Mirror, Rebecca can now be found crafting expert analysis of the TV landscape, when she's not talking on the BBC or Times Radio about everything from the latest season of Bridgerton or The White Lotus to whatever chaos is unfolding in the various Love Island villas. When she's not bingeing a boxset, in-the-wild sightings of Rebecca have included stints on the National TV Awards and BAFTAs red carpets, and post-match video explainers of the reality TV we're all watching.
