Tidelands
By Jenny Nixon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Supernatural soap opera is sexual, violent -- and boring.
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Tidelands
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What's the Story?
TIDELANDS takes place in a small coastal fishing village called Orphelin Bay, where ex-con Calliope "Cal" McTeer (Charlotte Best) returns home after a ten-year stint for arson and manslaughter. Hoping to cash in on her inheritance -- her fisherman father died shortly before she was incarcerated at age 14 -- she meets up with her brother Augie (Aaron Jakubenko), who reveals the true nature of the family business: running drugs. He does so with the help of the mysterious "Tidelanders", a reclusive group of half-human, half-sirens who live in a heavily-guarded shantytown of sorts, led by the magnetic Adrielle Cuthbert (Elsa Pataky). Unfazed by her brother's criminal connections, Cal wants in on the action but soon finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew about her family, her town, and herself.
Is It Any Good?
"Small town inhabited by supernatural beings" is a formula that works best when the show doesn't take itself too seriously (see: True Blood). This soap has the nudity and violence, but zero humor. Tidelands suffers from a terminal case of self-seriousness, which would be totally forgivable if the special effects weren't so lo-fi, or the storylines weren't such convoluted nonsense. While the series is full of gorgeous scenery and hot actors, that's about all it has going for it. There are seeds of a better show here -- the mythology of these creatures could be fun to explore in more detail, especially concerning the gender dynamics between the more-powerful female Tidelanders and their weaker male counterparts. Should a second season come about, the creators would be wise to tighten up the writing, add a heftier dash of camp, and turn this into the guilty-pleasure binge watch that seems to be its destiny.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what role the concept of family plays in Tidelands. Why might Cal be struggling to figure out where she belongs, and where her loyalties lie? Did her father do the right thing by keeping her background a secret for so long?
How does Tidelands compare to other shows and movies and their treatment of the "siren" or "mermaid" myth? What do you think makes these myths so enduring and fascinating to audiences?
TV Details
- Premiere date: December 14, 2018
- Cast: Charlotte Best , Aaron Jakubenko , Elsa Pataky , Marco Pigossi
- Network: Netflix
- Genre: Drama
- TV rating: TV-MA
- Last updated: February 18, 2023
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