One of Netflix‘s best post-apocalyptic shows manages to succeed despite completely switching the genre and tone of its original comic book series. In recent years, there have been quite a few post-apocalyptic small-screen adaptations. For instance, small screen takes on video games like The Last of Us and Fallout have worked incredibly well.
Similarly, book adaptations like Silo keep getting better with each new season. Just last year, Netflix also released The Eternaut, which is an adaptation of a classic graphic novel of the same name. Among all these mainstream post-apocalyptic small-screen adaptations, though, there is one that dares to completely change its source material.
Every time a show or movie completely flips its original comic book’s genre, viewers do not receive it too well. Creative liberties in shows that bend their source material’s genre also often turn out to be disastrous. Yet, Netflix’s Sweet Tooth seems to defy the norm and, despite changing its original comics, delivers three seasons of top-notch post-apocalyptic storytelling.
Sweet Tooth Completely Changes Its Original Comic’s Tone & Genre
Netflix’s Sweet Tooth almost feels like a Spielbergian flick because of how brilliantly it infuses a sense of wonder into its darker post-apocalyptic story. Its original comic book, however, is far bleaker in tone. Jeff Lemire’s signature art style in the comics alone gives the source material a jagged and washed-out feel that perfectly establishes its grim atmosphere.
What makes the comics even darker is that they never hold back from portraying how twisted and morally skewed the adult human population has become in the post-apocalyptic world. While the show almost unfolds as a fairy tale, the comics capture what depravity does to human survivors in a world where everything seems to be gradually crumbling.
Watering down its source material’s dark tone and atmosphere proved to be disastrous for Netflix’s The Electric State. Something similar could have happened with Netflix’s take on the Sweet Tooth comics. However, despite adopting a far brighter color palette and focusing on more hopeful themes, the Sweet Tooth TV adaptation works really well.
Despite Changing Its Comic Book, Sweet Tooth Works Incredibly Well
The post-apocalyptic genre is packed with many bleak stories of human survival. Almost all shows in the genre walk through the tragic tales of grieving characters who struggle to keep themselves alive. Sweet Tooth would have very well fallen into the same conventions of the genre if it had stayed loyal to its source material. Owing to this, its more optimistic and hopeful take on the genre is what makes it stand out.
A comic-accurate version of the show would also have significantly limited its reach. The comic-accurate version of the show would not only be unsuitable for younger audiences but also turn off many adults with its darker themes. The brilliance with which it turns the comics’ story into a beacon of pure, unadulterated innocence allows it to be suitable for all viewers, which, in turn, expands its reach.
Sweet Tooth never garnered the same mainstream attention as some of Netflix’s most popular shows. Despite this, it ended its run on a satisfying note with three well-rounded seasons. In its three-season runtime, Sweet Tooth maintains a consistent pace and does a brilliant job of developing its overarching lore.
In its final chapter, Netflix’s Sweet Tooth also leaves viewers with a positive message about how the world belongs to the newer generation and that meaningful change can only come when humanity learns from its past mistakes. While Sweet Tooth is not entirely bereft of flaws, the show is one of Netflix‘s best hidden gems in the post-apocalyptic subgenre.
