TV Show review
January 12, 2016 · 42 min · TV-14
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Shadowhunters follows teenager Clary Fray who discovers she comes from a line of Shadowhunters, half-angel demon fighters, after her mother disappears. She teams up with Jace, Isabelle, Alec, and her friend Simon to battle demons, uncover family secrets, and navigate a hidden world of warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and faeries. The show features a central romance between gay Shadowhunter Alec and bisexual warlock Magnus that many viewers notice, along with diverse casting and recurring storylines about prejudice against non-human groups that echo real-world discrimination themes. These elements appear clearly but stay secondary to the main action, mystery, and personal drama across its three seasons.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Shadowhunters.
Woke representation / casting
Multi-ethnic leads with several actors of color in major roles and a visible central queer romance; casting choices received author support and audience attention for inclusivity in a modern fantasy setting.
Woke political dialogue
Some episodes include conversations about prejudice, acceptance of Downworlders, and same-sex relationships with occasional real-world parallels, though these stay woven into character stories rather than standalone lectures.
Identity-driven story themes
Alec’s personal arc and the Malec romance receive significant screen time and drive emotional plotlines across seasons; themes of identity acceptance and forbidden love stand out to viewers as recurring elements.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Traditional Shadowhunter society faces criticism for elitism and bias against Downworlder groups, using species prejudice as a fantasy stand-in for discrimination; the framing stays story-focused without heavy modern activist language.
Woke character or canon changes
Some supporting characters received ethnicity shifts from book descriptions for the TV cast; the author endorsed broader diversity, but changes remained limited and did not overhaul core character logic.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Minimal backlash occurred; the show earned praise for representation instead, with viewer and critic complaints focused on pacing and effects rather than ideological content.
Creator track record context
Key figures like Ed Decter and co-showrunners have commercial television backgrounds in genre and drama projects; no clear pattern of activist or identity-driven prior work appears in public records.
Production
