TV Show review
January 16, 2019 · 43 min · TV-MA · Canceled · Action · Drama · Adventure · Crime
Based on 1 season, 10 episodes · through March 20, 2019
Marcus, a homeless teenager, is recruited into King's Dominion. This is a secret high school in San Francisco during the late 1980s where children of major crime bosses are trained to be assassins. Marcus must survive violent school cliques, brutal classes, and complex teenage drama while holding onto his own morals. The tone of the show is very dark, gritty, and highly political. Viewers will easily notice the show's heavy critiques of capitalism and the Ronald Reagan administration. The main character directly blames Reagan's government policies for the tragic deaths of his parents. The school cliques are divided based on race and nationality, showing some racial friction. Still, the show lacks major LGBTQ+ elements and actually leaves out two gay characters from the original comic book, which upset some liberal fans.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Deadly Class.
Woke representation / casting
The show features a highly diverse main cast representing various international gangs, keeping in line with the comic book's premise. There is some minor "girlboss" style combat competence among the female characters, but they remain flawed. Notably, the TV series completely left out the two gay characters from the comics, resulting in zero visible LGBTQ+ representation in the main cast.
15%
Woke political dialogue
The characters frequently engage in anti-establishment and anti-capitalist dialogue. In particular, the main character Marcus delivers several rants criticizing the Ronald Reagan administration, and even hallucinates a lecturing Reagan while on drugs. The dialogue clearly targets 1980s corporate greed.
20%
Identity-driven story themes
The plot touches on racial division, as the school's social cliques are segregated based on race and national background. However, these tribal divisions are shown as obstacles to overcome rather than celebrated identity politics. The main narrative focuses on individual trauma, survival, and grief.
25%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The series critiques the 1980s American establishment, framing Reagan's budget cuts as cruel and indifferent to the poor. It also depicts corrupt authority figures, such as abusive parents and dirty cops, though this aligns with the source material's punk-rock, anti-establishment aesthetic.
20%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
The series did not trigger any notable anti-woke backlash or right-leaning complaints. Most of the online political discourse actually came from disappointed progressive fans who criticized the show for removing the gay characters from the comic book.
0%
Creator track record context
The creative team is a mix of politically neutral or anti-woke creators, like original comic writer Rick Remender, alongside highly outspoken leftist and activist writers like Dave Anthony, Hilliard Guess, and Miles Orion Feldsott.
35%
Production
