Remember about 15 years ago, when Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games books became the hottest thing in teen literature? Suddenly, every publishing house and production studio was pumping out YA dystopian stories, usually centering on a harried teen girl who had a symbolic romantic choice to make between two very different dudes, while also trying to bring down a corrupt, oppressive state.
Scott Westerfeld beat Collins’ series to publication by several years with 2005’s Uglies, the first installment in a planned trilogy that has now stretched to eight books. But it’s taken more than 20 years for a screen adaptation to manifest. Netflix’s new trailer for the Uglies series is a real flashback to the 10-years-past heyday of YA movie adaptations like Divergent, Maze Runner, The Fifth Wave, The Giver, The Darkest Minds, and so forth. Its CG-slick future feels familiar. So does the imperious representative of the oppressive regime (played by Orange Is the New Black’s Laverne Cox), the stressed-out teen heroine (Joey King of The Princess) and the attractive boys she has to pick between.
Image: Netflix
The Uglies series is less immediately obvious about its dystopian setting than many of these other series: It takes place in a post-scarcity future where teenagers live in a sort of perpetual high-tech party, zipping around on hoverboards and playing high-tech games. Everyone has everything they need, and everyone is conventionally beautiful in a samey sort of way, because they all have surgery at age 16 to iron out all their idiosyncrasies. But Tally (King) discovers the dark truth behind the mandatory surgeries, which pushes her into a game she doesn’t want to play.
It’s easy enough to find out the twist online, and it’s obvious enough how it serves as a commentary on conformity, shallow beauty standards, and the importance of individualism. But if you haven’t already read the Uglies books and you’re feeling good about a retro trip back to the YA dystopia boom, it’s better to go in unspoiled and see if you can see that twist coming.
McG (director of the modern Charlie’s Angels reboots and the little-loved Terminator: Salvation) is credited as series director. The cast includes Keith Powers, Chase Stokes, Brianne Tju, Jan Luis Castellanos, and Charmin Lee, alongside King and Cox.
Uglies will debut on Netflix on Sept. 13.