Insatiable
2018
Original language: English
- drama
- comedy
The story
A bullied teenager turns to beauty pageants as a way to exact her revenge, with the help of a disgraced coach who soon realizes he's in over his head.
What it’s like
Bright, saturated pageant-world color sits against the drab corridors of a small-town high school, so the show looks like a sugar-glazed sitcom that keeps slipping into something colder. Its camera stays busy with pageant stages, glittering gowns, fluorescent gym light and tight, close framing on faces made up to look flawless, while its humid southern summers feel sticky and close. The score leans on upbeat pop and peppy cues that undercut the darker turns. The vibe is acidic and giddy, a dark comedy with a sharp, mean streak, best suited to a late-night binge with friends or a comfort-with-an-edge watch. Pacing is brisk, with episodes that jump between scheming, humiliation and absurd set pieces, and the emotional register runs from cutting satire to sudden sincerity. Its central arc follows a wounded teen gaining power through self-reinvention while the adults around her grow increasingly compromised. Violence is present and often shocking, including murder and bullying, and sexual content and cruelty appear regularly; it lands more with bite than with gore. It suits viewers who enjoy transgressive, satirical comedy and don't need anyone to be likable.
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