Now Apocalypse, like many of queercore director Gregg Araki’s films, feels like a directorial debut. It’s brash, filled with bold (read: weird) creative choices, and it desperately wants your attention. It aims to shock, and needs people to know that it has something to say. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and it certainly hasn’t stopped Araki from directing a genuinely great film (2004’s Mysterious Skin). But, as is the case with his new TV series, it can be exhausting.
The basic set-up for this Starz original series is awfully appealing. Former Teen Nick star Avan Jorgia plays Ulysses, a queer twenty-something trying to figure out his life in, where else, Los Angeles. He’s sleeping around, smoking weed, and broadcasting a diary of sorts (not a vlog, he insists) to help him dump the contents of his always-racing brain. His best friend, Carly (Kelli Berglund) is working as a cam-girl while trying to launch her acting career, and is wondering if her seemingly kind boyfriend is right for her. And then there are the men in his life: a dating app match that keeps dodging potential meet-ups (Tyler Posey), and a gorgeous, but straight, roommate that Ulysses clearly has a crush on (Beau Mirchoff).
To be clear: this is all good stuff. There are a lot of shows about 20-somethings trying to find their place in the world, but there’s a reason that genre tends to resonate: it’s fun. And to have this particular version be so queer and joyfully explicit is amusing. Nothing here would break new ground… but it’s silly to expect every show to do so. But everyone involved in making Now Apocalypse wants to break new ground, and that’s where the show stumbles.
Because Now Apocalypse is a sci-fi show! A stoner sci-fi show at that, with obviously fake creatures and campy mythology that feels like something from the era of Ed Wood, just far more sexual. Without getting into spoiler-y territories, one major character works for a laboratory that seems to be up to nefarious activities. She even talks with a thick Russian accent that makes her sound like a Bond villain.
But it doesn’t just stop there! At one point, an orgasm is literally so intense that it seemingly sends ripples through the universe that will alter reality. And a recurring subplot ends with a main character stumbling upon a large alien creature doing an unspeakable (and perhaps offensive?) act that is best left unspoiled, because it honestly wouldn’t make sense to read on the printed page. All of this happens within the first 29 minutes. And, despite the show’s best efforts, all this high-concept stuff is boring. I’d rather just follow these twenty-somethings around on their sexual misadventures.
That might have something to do with the talented cast. Everyone here is fully committed and having fun, relaxing into their quirky roles and the truly wacky plot from the outset. Jorgia displays a unique, subversive leading man quality that should make him a star to watch out for, even if the show itself is not the best vehicle. But the real star is Beau Mirchoff, who completely kills his supporting role as Ulysses’ dopey roommate/object of lust. Mirchoff is hilarious, and manages to play his character’s naiveté as a joke, without having it becoming old or even unbelievable. Weird sci-fi or not, I’d watch him on a weekly basis do just about anything.
Honestly, this show’s main character is named Ulysses. Let’s say that again: Ulysses. It really shouldn’t be a major surprise that this show is so silly and overstuffed. I’d take a show about queer twenty-somethings trying to figure out life, and I’d also take a more wacky show filled with stoner sci-fi. But… I don’t think I’d want both. Because when a show is so desperately trying to be different, instead of just being different, what’s the point? It just becomes the thing it set out to not be: boring.
Overall rating: 5 out of 10
