(This review relates to S1)

This post-apocalyptic fairy tale has excellent actors and beautiful cinematography. Found family and hope are the main themes of this story, along with morality and ethical conflicts. Even though the world in which the story takes place is very dark, the narrative finds a way to remain light. I found it very refreshing that all the main characters tried to do good to to the best of their abilities. Would recommend as a family binge-watch, however season one does end on a cliff-hanger. Fortunately, season two is in the making.

(This review relates to all three seasons)

Jasmijn and I binged the first season in the first few days after it was released, and, even though I already expected I would like it, still I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality.

Despite several child protagonists (all excellent actors, by the way) and a mostly lighthearted tone, Sweet Tooth handles some fairly dark themes one might expect from a post-apocalyptic setting. People die in gruesome (though offscreen) ways and unethical medical practices are at the core of this series’ plot. The writing maintains a precarious balance between these intriguing dark storylines and a story that is also aimed at a younger public. I thought this was masterfully done.

Some other thing I quite liked was the central theme of (found) family. All the main characters provide a different perspective on these concepts.  A welcome change from most other post-apocalyptic settings, was the fact that most main characters were good-hearted and likeable.

As for the cinematography, the series delivers some stunning views. Also, most of the special effects, including the hybrid costumes, were convincing.

I would say this is a perfect series to watch as a family, because both younger and older generations will probably find something to their liking. In addition, those who want to carefully try their hands at a post-apocalyptic story might find Sweet Tooth an easily accessible medium to start.

(Addendum for season 2 & 3): After recently finishing the final season, I can honestly say that the quality of this series stays consistent to my initial review and even earned half a star on top of it. Though the later seasons were both darker than the first (with the final season as the darkest of them all), the balance between gruesomeness and lightheartedness remains impressive. In fact, I can now confidently say it is one of the shows strongest aspects. The exploration of grey morality is nothing new in post-apocalyptic stories, but Sweet Tooth‘s take on it hits surprisingly hard. I suspect this might be because the contrast between dark and light moments is stronger than most other stories in similar settings. As a result, a dark twist hits harder than if everything would have been a constant murky grey. Gus, Big Man, Bear (I really love her actress, Stefania LaVie Owen, by the way) and Doctor Singh are the perfect protaganists to explore this duality. 

(This review relates to S1)

I quite enjoyed Sweet Tooth. It is a show that somehow feels very familiar. Based as it is on a comic book series, the premise of the story is rather fantastical. Apart from that premise, there isn’t much in this story that surprised me. However, I don’t think a story needs lots of twists and turns to be good. Rather, I’d say that the best stories don’t depend on shock value to do their work for them.

Sweet Tooth, in many ways, feels like a story I’ve heard before. A boy goes on an adventure, and he meets good guys and bad guys along the way. The stakes are high, but mostly in a personal way. The world as a whole has already ended, but Gus’s world is still very much alive. While the show has several protagonists, it is Gus’s story that is the focus. With good reason: a big part of the appeal of the show is Christian Convery’s charming acting. I don’t really like kids, but he’s pretty cute.

While I did enjoy the show, I felt it perhaps might have landed a little better before we ended up in an actual global pandemic. I may be alone in this (though I doubt it, to be honest) but I’m sick and tired of post-apocalyptic stories. Still, I’d say that Sweet Tooth certainly isn’t a pessimistic story. It felt very comfortable to watch, if that makes sense.