Daybreak is a brand new post-apocalyptic Netflix show staring Matthew Broderick – For those of you who don’t know Matthew Broderick, I suggest you go watch one of my favourite films ever before watching Daybreak, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off! It’s a brilliant 80’s film about a couple of friends’ antics whilst ditching school; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is well known for breaking the 4th Wall, and you Deadpool fans may recognise the end credit scene…
So once you’ve watched Ferris Bueller’s Day off (and loved it), go watch Daybreak. As I mentioned before Daybreak is a post-apocalyptic show where a nuclear bomb has been detonated, and all of the adults have either died or turned into Ghoulies. Ghoulies are zombie-like creatures that amble around, have a taste for blood, and continually repeat the last vapid thought that was going through their head. This leaves the kids – The kids have survived, and are living full-on Lord of the Flies style, forming different clans based on their pre-existing cliques, and are generally struggling to get along and survive peacefully. The clans are all pretty cliche like the jocks, the gamers, the farmers, the STEM club; you know, what you’d expect.
The show follows a kid named Josh, and straight away we get that Ferris Bueller’s 4th Wall breaking style that I love – Even before Matthew Broderick turned up, I knew what they were referencing, which is probably why the show grabbed me! It has a certain charm to it that I like. Josh starts by letting us know that the apocalypse is the best thing to ever happen to him – He has everything he wants… Bar one thing, the girl he loves. As the show goes on, we see Josh join with two other kids, Angelica and Wes, who could be considered the other main characters; they even get their own episodes which are great, and shot differently, reflecting the characters unique personalities. The show uses flashbacks to develop the characters, and show life before and after the apocalypse, giving background to why different people ended up the way they did. I quite like the use of flashbacks in the show, as it’s really helped to flesh out the characters. I mean they aren’t necessarily always overly deep characters, but a lot of them have the potential to be, and I hope that the show gets a second season so that we can find out more and see a little deeper character development. The ending kinda suggests that season two will bring more multifaceted elements to the existing cast… So fingers crossed.
As Josh continues throughout the series to find his love Sam, there are plenty of twists and turns – I think that’s one thing the show does quite well, it runs the risk of being predictable, yet some of the twists really don’t go the way you’re expecting them to. There are moments characters don’t act the way you think they will, and moments that have you questioning whether they’re real or not. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t some epic masterpiece with amazing plot lines, but rather a charming take on an over-saturated genre that’s pretty easy to watch that can still surprise you.
Overall I’ve really enjoyed watching the first season. Its set itself up for a second season, and many questions were answered, such as why the kids survived and adults didn’t, but many more were left unanswered or set up for a second season. The show ends on a big open ending, and it’s anyone’s guess where it might go next, but the show has been pretty twisty so I’m not sure if it will go the expected way or not! I’ll just have to wait and see. It’s an easy 7/10 from me.
If you want an easy silly watch that you can formulate some theories over, give it a go!
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