Looking for a weekend binge? Watch Star Crossed on Netflix. It’s a Romeo and Juliet meets sci-fi mashup and it’s well worth your time.
The premise: In 2014, aliens crash land on the earth. In 2024, they still live here, but in a militarized ghetto with zero rights. For the first time, seven teenage aliens – Atrians – are allowed to live everyone’s dream, and attend American public high school. A human girl, Emery Whitehill (Aimee Teagarden) and an Atrian boy, Roman (Matt Lanter) fall in love.
Trust me I know how it sounds. When someone gave me this recommendation I was extremely wary. But stick with me.
Although the arrival of aliens at school has dissenters, those loud mouthed class clown jock types quickly come to the side of their peers. The close-minded haters, against integration of Atrians and humans, are all the adults. It’s interesting considering the story is only set 10 years in the future, indicating that older millennials would be the ones to show their extreme prejudice if aliens ever did land on earth. It’s awesome to see a show with tolerant youth working together. Cool Girl Taylor immediately accepts Emery upon her return from a life-threatening illness that caused her to grow up in a hospital. She is not an insecure, bitchy type – and Emery herself exhibits characteristics unlike some of her damsel in distress counterparts. She is resourceful, calm, honest and kind – and totally able to save herself.
I loved the casual diversity of the show. Many of the main cast members are non-white actors, and there is homosexual love displayed and expressed with an attitude of “well, obviously.” In fact, one of the Atrians (who falls in love with another girl) tells her friend that loving someone based on their gender seems limiting. It’s an interesting and sweet perspective I did not expect to get from a show on the CW.