If You Love Yellowjackets & Derry Girls, Make Class of ‘07 Your Next Binge-Watch
What’s worse than a class reunion? Getting trapped with your former classmates during the apocalypse.
It’s the end of the world as they know it, and Ridge Heights Catholic Ladies College’s class of 2007 is not feeling fine. Class of ‘07, Prime Video’s latest comedy series, is an Australian import that’s part every woman for herself survivalist fare ala Yellowjackets, and part comedy powerhouse about the complexities of high school friendships (think Derry Girls). At once smart, funny, nostalgic, and deeply relatable, the eight-episode first season makes for a quick binge that will leave you craving more.
When the pocko (the characters’ cutesy name for the apocalypse) arrives in the midst of their 10-year high school reunion, a group of women who haven’t seen each other in a decade suddenly get trapped together in their old school. There’s Zoe (Emily Browning), who is coming off an embarrassing stint on The Bachelor-esque TV show The Match; her former best friend Amelia (Megan Smart), whose life didn’t turn out the way she or her friends imagined it would; reformed mean girl Saskia (Caitlin Stasey); stoners Tegan (Bernie Van Tiel) and Megan (Chi Nguyen); and standout Steph Tisdell as scholarship student turned wry workaholic Phoebe.
The moment the earth cracks under their feet, revealing they’re suddenly surrounded by water as far as the eye can see, the real fun begins. Soon, the women find themselves falling back into their assigned high school roles as the reality of their life-or-death situation settles in. But don’t worry; this pocko is certainly not a depressing one — in fact, it’s one that will leave you giggling from start to finish.
How dark is Class of ‘07?
If the cannibalism, creepy masks, and general scariness of Yellowjackets are too much for you, then fear not: Class of ‘07 is the perfect alternative. Like the Showtime hit, the Australian series mixes high school flashbacks with present-day events to give viewers a full view of who the women at the heart of the show are.
However, this show is, first and foremost, a comedy series. Do the characters discuss who they would eat first if it came down to it? Absolutely. But it’s purely theoretical.
Some of the jokes do skew dark (a toe amputation leads to a hilarious line reading from one of the show’s talented actors). Still, Class of ‘07 is overall more interested in examining what it’s like to revisit fraught high school friendships as an adult. The show is packed with jokes and even some poignancy, but it won’t give you nightmares.
Does Class of ‘07 feature real-life issues?
This charming show is fronted by a cast of talented women, most of whom are unknown stateside, and it doesn’t waste their talents. Class of ‘07 wants to make viewers laugh, but it never turns its characters into caricatures.
One of the women is dealing with infertility issues, and even when faced with the possibility of the world ending, she continues with her hormone shots. Another has depression and enlists help stocking up on antidepressants to keep her mental health on track. There’s also mention of a past student-teacher relationship, a look at the long-term effects of bullying, and plenty of stories about how amusing and bittersweet revisiting your high school self can be.
Everyone leaves high school with at least a few what-ifs. What if you confronted the mean girl? What if you had reached out to your original best friend instead of moving on to the next one? How would your high school experience have been different if you had thrown off the label assigned to you by your peers and proudly embraced your true self? In so many ways, Class of ‘07 is about the fantasy of getting a do-over under the weirdest circumstances imaginable.
Should you watch Class of ‘07?
If you’ve already streamed Derry Girls and need another comedy with dynamic female characters to binge, put the kids to bed and queue up Class of ‘07. The first season consists of eight 30-minute episodes, which means the time commitment is low (always a bonus), and each one of those episodes is full of early ‘00s jams that will take you right back to your own high school and college days.
But most importantly, this gem of a show is brilliant and wickedly funny (just like Yellowjackets), with a cast of women who deserve all of the awards. Add in the drama and mystery of the pocko, and Class of ‘07 becomes can’t-miss TV.
