TAGGED AS: Comic Book, Fantasy, Netflix, streaming, television, TV
The ever-changing priorities of DC Studios and its plans for a cohesive DC Cinematic Universe created a Crisis-level event among its various television programs. Titans just ended, and Doom Patrol is due to end with its remaining episodes. The Arrowverse will call it a good night with the end of The Flash this summer, and several projects yet to air — like Dead Boy Detectives — seek new homes outside of the usual Warner Bros. Discovery ecosystem. But one DC-related series, by virtue of the way it was originally published, avoids all this tumult to stay focused on its own fictional upheavals: Sweet Tooth.
(Photo by Netflix)
Based on the series written and drawn by Jeff Lemire, it was released via DC’s now-defunct Vertigo label, a publishing arm meant to showcase mature-themed non-superhero comics. Sweet Tooth was the perfect blend of horror, indie sensibilities, and deep character work. Naturally enough, it attracted the attention of producers like Jim Mickle, Beth Schwartz, Susan Downey, and Robert Downey Jr.
Originally intended for Hulu, Netflix picked up the project in 2020. The first season debuted a year later to acclaim (97% on the Tomatometer) and an overall positive response from viewers. The success was enough for the streamer to agree to a second season, which quietly filmed while the DCU cycled into another form.
But what lay ahead for Gus (Christian Convery), Jepperd (Nonso Anozie), and the others as events bring them closer together? Let’s take a look at everything we know about Sweet Tooth‘s second season. Spoilers for the first season naturally follow.
(Photo by Netflix)
Gus, the little boy with antler horns who may have been the first hybrid child born before a devastating plague known as the Sick made its way across the globe, was captured by men loyal to General Steven Abbot (Neil Sandilands), a strong man doing his best to wrest control of the remaining resources in the region with his personal army, the Last Men. They also hunt hybrids, believing them to be the source of the pandemic. At the same time, though, the general’s forces finally infiltrated The Preserve, a refuge for hybrid children at a former zoo maintained by the kindly Aimee (Dania Ramirez), taking the children hostage.
Also in Abbot’s company is Dr. Aditya Singh (Adeel Akhtar), who suspects the hybrids may also be the key to curing the plague as pineal gland secretions extracted from the children was proven by his predecessor to slow the progress of the disease. Of course, as harvesting the fluid at the scale required will kill the kids, he has reservations about making his discovery known or aiding the general in collecting as much of the “cure” as possible.
(Photo by Netflix)
Jepperd, who nicknamed Gus “Sweet Tooth” and forever wrestled with protecting the lad from the Last Men, losses him after being shot by the general’s forces. He awakens to find Aimee tending to his wounds. The two resolved to rescue the hybrids, a thread Netflix confirmed will continue in season 2.
Meanwhile, far away in Alaska, Birdie (Amy Seimetz) — Gus’ “mother” — answers a long-dormant satellite phone. On the other end: Bear (Stefania LaVie Owen), a young girl who traveled with Gus and Jepperd for a time and turned out to be the adoptive sister of a hybrid who stayed at The Preserve and is now Abbot’s prisoner.
Based on the comics set around this same point in the story, we expect Gus will befriend several other hybrids even as Dr. Singh and Abbot attempt to determine why he’s strangely different from the others and if he is the real cure they’re looking for. Additionally, a recent plot synopsis provided by Netflix indicates Gus will need to “find new strength as he uncovers the origins of The Great Crumble.”
(Photo by Netflix)
As mentioned above, Sweet Tooth takes place in a United States many years after the Sick brought about the end of modern civilization. Although some vestiges still exist, as seen in the community where we met Dr. Singh and his afflicted wife, Rani (Aliza Vellani), large parts of the country have been reclaimed by nature.
The exact cause of the plague, though, is still a central question the show needs to address. Via a flashback episode into the origins of Gus’ adoptive parents, we learn the disease was discovered by Birdie and that it appeared at the same time as the hybrids, leading her to also believe they are linked.
Readers of the comic book know where things are going and, to be honest, those events have a certain bleakness to them missing from the television adaptation. In fact, in contrast to The Walking Dead universe or HBO’s recent The Last of Us, Sweet Tooth has a whimsical, almost fairy tale tone of coincidence and gentleness complete with a gravelly-voiced narrator (James Brolin) assuring viewers that things might be all right in the end.
Well, for some of the characters, anyway…
(Photo by Netflix)
Convery, Anozie, Owen, Ramirez, Akhtar, and Vellani all return with Naledi Murray also returning as Wendy. Production commenced in early 2022, so all of the younger characters will appear somewhat older. It is unclear if the program will address this, but one thing we do know, via Ramirez during a 2022 Netflix Geeked Week video, is that “the stakes are higher, the battles are bigger, the mean guys are meaner.”
Speaking of the mean guys, Sandilands also returns as Abbot, whose role will be expanded from his handful of appearances in season 1 to a more constant menace. This time around, Gus will be a personal project even as he still leans on Dr. Singh for his medical expertise.
Brolin also returns to narrate the tale.
(Photo by Netflix)
New cast members include Marlon Williams as Johnny Abbot, M3gan’s Amie Donald as Maya Monkey, Kiri-Rose Kendall as Twyla, Nigel Godfrey as Herb, Caden Dragomer as Earl, Craig Hall as Marlin, Sean Cooper Jr. as Teddy Turtle, Yonas Kibreab as Finn Fox, and Erroll Shand as Rufus. Additionally, a casting sheet for new hybrid characters made its way to the Internet prior to season 2 beginning production. They include Wally Walrus, one of Aimee’s charges who fears the dark and speaks with a sing-song quality; Haley Mockingbird, an opinionated hybrid child with limited verbal skills, but a knack for mimicry; and JoJo Cat, who behaves more feline than human despite being a hybrid child.
One person seemingly absent is Will Forte. As he played Gus’ adoptive father in flashbacks — from first meeting Birdie to his death at the shack he shared with Gus for nearly a decade — it is unclear if his story has run its course or if there is more to explore further back in his past.
(Photo by Netflix)
As before, Mickle and Schwartz serve as executive producers and showrunners with Amanda Burrell, Linda Moran, and the Downeys also on board as executive producers. Although not confirmed, we expect Mickle will also direct episodes again this season.
(Photo by Netflix)
The eight-episode second season launches on April 27 on Netflix. The Sweet Tooth season 2 review embargo lifts the same day at 12:01 a.m. PT. and will receive a Tomatometer score when it has at least five reviews.
86%
Sweet Tooth: Season 2
(2023)
premieres on Thursday, April 27 on Netflix.
