ODETTE PARFITT lets us know if “Geek Girl” is worth the stream on Netflix. The series follows awkward teenager Harriet Manners, who dazzles a modelling agent during a school trip, thrusting her into the high-stakes world of fashion.
Geek Girl (2024)
Platform: Netflix
Basic plot:
Despite being awkward on a number of levels, teenager Harriet Manners wows a modelling agent she encounters on a school class trip to London, and is suddenly thrown headfirst into the world of high fashion.
How it was probably pitched to the producers:
What teenage girl doesn’t dream of being fabulous overnight?
Thoughts:
The premise should have been a dead giveaway, but it took me less than a full episode to realise I was not the target audience for this particular story. However, despite not landing anywhere near the 12-year-old-girl mark, I finished the whole season anyway. (Judging by the ending, there are no plans for a season 2.)
The age mismatch aside, there are high and low points to this series. A lot of the drama is very low-stakes; not a lot of effort went into writing the classmates who are bullying Harriet (and the bullying is not terribly creative in itself). That being said, considering the demographic, I don’t imagine the bullies that Geek Girl’s viewers might contend with, are much more brilliant in their insults either, so points for relatability I guess?
On the other hand, the portrayal of Harriet’s anxiety is done with simple elegance and sensitivity, and I for one am excited about the idea of mental health issues being made accessible to a younger generation.
A personal high point was the character of Wilbur, the agent who jumps from business to emotional support with the same flair with which he does everything (and the occasional slip into an inexplicable Jamaican accent is more entertaining than it should be).
Finally, I enjoyed the character of Toby, one of Harriet’s classmates who poses the scenario of someone who is weird and happy to be so – sending an important message to viewers throughout while Harriet makes her journey to accepting her own weird (the metaphor of her being “a polar bear in the rainforest” lives in my brain forever now).
Bottom line – is it worth the stream?
I actually think so, yes, if you are either the right age group or able to appreciate it for whom it was intended.
Watch this if you like:
- Fashion, obviously
- Brilliant red hair
- Oddball characters of all shapes and sizes
- Journeys of self-acceptance
- Dad jokes and the cheesy father figures who tell them
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