Fine, I’ll Say It: Paramount+’s ‘Wolf Pack’ Is Just Awful. With the influx of streaming series available at any given moment, not every single one is destined for greatness or even the faintest sense of longevity. This holds true for every major streaming service, from Netflix to Hulu. Each service has showcased a plethora of talent and given us some truly iconic television masterpieces, some of which have found themselves canceled prematurely or let run a little too long perhaps. But they’ve also given us their fair share of total duds. This remains true even for the likes of Paramount+. With the increasing quality of Star Trek streaming shows and the numerous spin-offs of Yellowstone, it can be easy to think of Paramount as one of the better streaming services to invest time and money in. And while that can still be true, it’s still worth pointing out that one of their most recent endeavors should be called out for exactly what it is: a total dumpster fire.
A Prime Example of Poor Acting, Writing, and VFX
Despite being led by iconic, powerhouse performance-delivering actors in Sarah Michelle Gellar and Rodrigo Santoro, Paramount+’s newest foray into teen angst is plagued by some truly terrible performances, mainly those of the younger cast members who are meant to be the main focus of this supernatural drama. However, given the poor quality of the written material these young actors have to work with, a point could be made that they’re simply doing the best with what they have. As it stands now, the series currently holds a 38% Rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which clear criticisms being aimed toward the thin writing stocked to the brim with cliches, tropes, and some of the cheesiest lines to ever air on the mainstream. Despite the advantage, budget, and talent available to them by airing on Paramount+, Wolf Pack just doesn’t (or won’t) take advantage of the numerous opportunities to improve itself.
Networks Need To Stop Banking So Much on Their Cast
The promotional material for Wolf Pack might suggest that the show’s main focus is Buffy The Vampire Slayer herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar. The posters, the trailers, and other assorted promos, all made it seem that Gellar, not the young actors, was the main focus of the show. Which, in part, I do believe has contributed to the low quality of the show overall. This happened with Gellar in her previous attempts at comebacks with the canceled reboot/sequel series to Cruel Intentions, CW’s Ringer, and the sitcom, The Crazy Ones, in which she shared the screen with the dearly departed legend, Robin Williams. All shows were either canceled after a single season or never made it to air a single episode. This was, in part, due to the fact that the networks chose to rely more on the nostalgia pull of their most prominent cast member(s), instead of making sure the material was worth their effort and time. In that sense, Wolf Pack has become both an utter betrayal of the cast, mainly Sarah Michelle Gellar, and the dedicated viewers.
Can It Be Salvaged?
It remains to be seen whether Wolf Pack will live to see a sophomore season. It should be noted that while it holds a less than admirable rating with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, its audience score holds a respectable 79%, showing a clear break in entertainment value with critics and the audience. A freshman season with terrible reviews doesn’t often bode well, however, if the show does manage to nab a second-season renewal. More often than not, this leads a series to see a decline in returning viewers while being totally unable to attract new ones to offset the loss.
Does this mean the show should be destined to be devoured by the cancellation bear? Not really my place to say. Given that the previous series run by Jeff Davis was the iconic Teen Wolf that ran on MTV for several seasons and just debuted a sequel film exclusive to Paramount+, it stands to reason there’s still time for both the executives and creatives to get together and improve on what’s working while making sure to scrub everything that isn’t.
