Paper Girls TV Review

Plot: In the early morning hours after Halloween 1988, four paper girls—Erin, Mac, Tiffany, and KJ—are out on their delivery route when they become caught in the crossfire between warring time-travelers, changing the course of their lives forever. Transported into the future, these girls must figure out a way to get back home to the past, a journey that will bring them face-to-face with the grown-up versions of themselves. While reconciling that their futures are far different than their 12-year-old selves imagined, they are being hunted by a militant faction of time-travelers known as the Old Watch, who have outlawed time travel so that they can stay in power. In order to survive, the girls will need to overcome their differences and learn to trust each other, and themselves.

Review: Comic book writer Brian K. Vaughan has created some of the best stories of the last twenty years, several of which have been adapted into series or films or are currently in development. From Runaways and Y The Last Man to Ex Machina and Saga, Vaughan’s bibliography is chock full of brilliant projects. One of his most recent series, Paper Girls, is a great example of science fiction storytelling that balances the line between nostalgia and originality that turns shows like Stranger Things into massive pop culture hits. With a very distinct art style and a thoroughly 1980s vibe, Paper Girls should have been a slam dunk to convert into a series. While Prime Video’s adaptation does boast a solid cast of actors to play the titular group of friends and a killer soundtrack of retro and current songs, the overall series feels somewhat lacking in terms of scale.

Having been a fan of the comic book for years, I cannot help but feel a little underwhelmed by the start of Paper Girls. Set in 1988, the series opens with the introduction of the titular teen newspaper deliverers: Mac Coyle (Sofia Rosinsky), Tiffany Quilkin (Camryn Jones), KJ Brandman (Fina Strazza), and new girl Erin Tieng (Riley Lai Nelet). Right from the outset, Paper Girls nails the relationship between the four twelve-year-olds who instantly share chemistry reminiscent of the boys from the first season of Stranger Things. There is the brainiac, the rich girl, the outcast, and the newcomer, all of whom not only must deal with the hormonal shift of being a teen but also boys, racism, sexism, and all sorts of stigmas that divide them as much as draw them together. All of that plays in nicely with the genre elements of the story which kick into gear about halfway through the premiere episode.

When the skies turn pinkish purple, the girls find themselves dropped into the middle of a war between factions of time travelers which involves much more than you would expect. The girls are then unceremoniously dropped in 2019 and must contend with three decades of differences in the world ranging from the lack of phone books to meeting their adult selves. While each teen eventually meets their middle-aged doppelgangers, the first is adult Erin, played by Ali Wong. This experience offers the first glimpse of what could have been and presents Paper Girls‘ best element. Wong and Nelet are two versions of Erin but neither tries to copy the mannerisms of the other, making them two distinct characters bonded by a shared past. It is an interesting way to handle the time travel element and really drives home the dramatic part of the story.

What Paper Girls lacks is a sense of scale and scope. Yes, we are dealing with time-traveling factions at war with each other, but the battle showcased in the first episode feels surprisingly small. The costume design may have worked better if it were used in something other than a generic forest, but after that sequence, we see very little of the future side of the story for most of the season. What we do see comes in the form of Prioress (Adina Porter) and Larry (Nate Corddry). Both actors play characters that represent the warring sides of time travelers and their true motivations are revealed over the course of the series. Porter, a mainstay of American Horror Story, is a very interesting character and one that you will immediately draw conclusions about. Corddry, more recognized for his comedy, delivers a solid turn here. Both of these actors get substantial screen time as the season goes on and moves towards the insane season finale.

This series began development under Stephany Folsom who left early on in production with Fola Goke-Pariola and K. Perkins taking over the rest of the season. The vast majority of Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang’s comic narrative remains intact, but as I watched this first season I could not help but feel that there was a lot more talking and sitting around than I remembered. This is not a terrible thing as Paper Girls does get a lot right and really digs into the emotional state of this quarter as they get to know one another and their potential future selves. The stakes for what their involvement with the time travel war represents is the main theme of this season as everything begins to come together, but the ending of the eighth episode is what should excite fans of the comic and those who stick with this show for the entire first season run.

Paper Girls will immediately remind you of Stranger Things and that is both a blessing and a curse. Prime Video certainly has the deep pockets to make this show look as epic as Netflix’s flagship, but it isn’t really on screen for most of this first season. I hope people stick with this show through the finale to see where this story is going next and I hope even more that we get to see that second season realized. Aside from that, Paper Girls’ first season boasts a solid foursome of actresses who really embody their characters and allow you to relate to their journey through time. I liked this season despite hoping I would love it, but I am still confident that any of my concerns could be addressed in a second season that aims to be way bigger and bolder than this one.

Paper Girls premieres on Prime Video on July 29th.

Paper Girls

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