I recently watched a family show on Netflix called Julie and the Phantoms as a joke because it kept popping up on my for you page on Tik Tok and I ended up loving it. The show released in September 2020 and it honestly has saved 2020 for me. At first, I was a little embarrassed that I liked it because it is considered a “kid’s show”, but it truly is a show for teens and adults as well.
The show gives off high school musical vibes through the soundtrack and the magic created behind Disney’s High School Musical and Descendants director, Kenny Ortega. I love that the show has LGBTQ and POC representation. I think it is important to show more representation of diversity in the entertainment industry and make people feel like they can relate to some of the characters. I think that in children shows, they try to be aware of sensitive topics to its younger viewers, but Julie and the Phantoms touches on topics such as death, anxiety, and normalizing coming out in such a light-hearted and humorous way.
Julie and the Phantoms emphasizes the importance of having any type of support system whether it’s your biological family or non-blood related family. I love that the show represents how love doesn’t have to be a romantic ship, but it can be seen by two people connecting on a deep emotional level. There are a lot of ships in the show between some of the characters, but I like how there is no need to add in a kiss or any romantic gesture to represent love.
The Fandom community has shown female appreciation for the female characters who carry the whole show. Female characters can often be underrepresented, but outside the show, the female actresses are given equal recognition to the male actors. I highly recommend giving this a watch if you are into cheesy, musical, and feel good shows. You will not regret it!