''American Vandal'' is an American

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

television series created by Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda that premiered on September 15, 2017, on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

. The series is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

documentaries such as ''

Making a Murderer ''Making a Murderer'' is an American true crime documentary television series written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. The show tells the story of Steven Avery, a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who served 18 years in pri ...

'' and '' Serial''. On October 26, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had canceled the series after two seasons; however, it was also reported that producers intend to shop the program to other venues. It received mostly positive critical reviews, was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

, and won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

Premise

The first season follows the aftermath of a costly high school prank that left 27 faculty cars vandalized with phallic images. Senior class clown Dylan Maxwell is accused of the crime by the school. He is expelled, but an investigation into the incident is launched by sophomore Peter Maldonado, with help from his friend Sam Ecklund, to uncover whether Dylan was the one truly behind the crime. The second season follows Peter and Sam as they investigate a new crime at a Catholic private high school after their cafeteria's lemonade is contaminated with

maltitol Maltitol is a sugar alcohol (a polyol) used as a sugar substitute. It has 75–90% of the sweetness of sucrose (table sugar) and nearly identical properties, except for browning. It is used to replace table sugar because it is half as energetic, ...

by someone calling themselves "The Turd Burglar."

Cast and characters

Main

Tyler Alvarez Tyler Sage Alvarez (born October 25, 1997) is an American actor, known for his roles as Diego Rueda in Nickelodeon's teen sitcom ''Every Witch Way'' and Peter Maldonado in Netflix's mockumentary series ''American Vandal''. Early life Alvarez was ...

as Peter Maldonado, the co-anchor of Hanover High School's morning show and the writer and director of true-crime documentary series ''American Vandal''. *

Griffin Gluck Griffin Gluck (born August 24, 2000) is an American actor. In television, he is known for his roles as Charlie in '' Red Band Society'', Mason Warner in '' Private Practice'', and Danny Gannon in '' Back in the Game''. He also starred as a main ...

as Sam Ecklund, a co-producer of ''American Vandal'' and Peter's closest friend. *

Jimmy Tatro James Richard Tatro is an American actor, comedian, writer and YouTube personality. He is the creator and star of the YouTube channel ''LifeAccordingToJimmy'', which has more than 3.4 million subscribers and over 713 million video views. Tatro ...

as Dylan Maxwell (season 1), the primary suspect of the prank at Hanover High School.

Recurring

Season 1

* Joe Farrell as Jared Hixenbaugh * Jessica Juarez as Brianna "Ganj" Gagne * G. Hannelius as Christa Carlyle * Camille Hyde as Gabi Granger * Camille Ramsey as Mackenzie Wagner * Eduardo Franco as Spencer Diaz *

Lukas Gage Lukas Gage is an American actor. He has appeared in '' American Vandal'', ''The White Lotus'', '' Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse'', and ''Euphoria''. Biography Gage was born in San Diego, California and raised in Encinitas, California. He ...

as Brandon Galloway * Lou Wilson as Lucas Wiley *

Calum Worthy Calum Worthy (born January 28, 1991) is a Canadian actor, writer, and producer, known for his roles as Dez on the Disney Channel series ''Austin & Ally'', Alex Trimboli in the Netflix series '' American Vandal'', Nicholas Godejohn in the Hulu ser ...

as Alex Trimboli * Cody Wai-Ho Lee as Ming Zhang *

Saxon Sharbino Saxon Paige Sharbino (born June 11, 1999) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Amelia Robbins in the Fox series ''Touch'' and Kendra Bowen in the 2015 remake of ''Poltergeist.'' Early life Sharbino was born in Lewisville, Texas, ...

as Sara Pearson * P.L. Brown as Mr. Baxter * Gabriela Fresquez as Sophia Gutierrez * Ryan O'Flanagan as Steven "Kraz" Krazanski *

Karly Rothenberg Karly Rothenberg is an American film and television actress. Rothenberg is best known for her roles as warehouse worker Madge “Pudge” Madsen on ''The Office'' and Ms. Erin Shapiro in the Netflix mockumentary '' American Vandal''. She played ...

as Erin Shapiro * Aylin Bayramoglu as Madison Kaplan * Brian Perrault as Zack Rutherford

Season 2

* Travis Tope as Kevin McClain *

Melvin Gregg Melvin Gregg is an American actor, model and comedian known for his roles as DeMarcus Tillman in Netflix's mockumentary series '' American Vandal'', Erick Scott in Steven Soderbergh’s sports drama film '' High Flying Bird'', Drew 'Manboy' Mille ...

as DeMarcus Tillman *

Taylor Dearden Taylor Dearden Cranston (born February 12, 1993) is an American actress. She played Ophelia in the MTV show '' Sweet/Vicious''. She also played Chloe Lyman in the second season of the Netflix mockumentary ''American Vandal''. Early life Taylor ...

as Chloe Lyman * DeRon Horton as Lou Carter * Adam Ray as Officer Crowder *

Sarah Burns Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pio ...

as Ms. Angela Montgomery * Jay Lee as Tanner Bassett *

Bellina Logan Bellina Logan is an American television and film actress. She is known for her roles in such films and television shows as ''Interview with the Vampire'', '' Twin Peaks'' and as Nurse Kit in '' ER'' and Janice Mayfield in the sitcom ''Daddio ...

as Detective Carla Dickey * Barbara Deering as Ms. Cathy Wexler * Miles J. Harvey as Paul Schnorrenberg * Jeremy Culhane as Grayson Wentz * La'Charles Trask as Perry Coleman *

Susan Ruttan Susan Diane Ruttan (née Dunsrud; born September 16, 1948) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Roxanne Melman on '' L.A. Law'' (1986–1993), for which she was nominated four times for a Primetime Emmy Award. Life and care ...

as Patricia McClain * Jonathan Saks as Drew Pankratz * Kiah Stern as Jenna Hawthorne * Nathaniel J. Potvin as Trevor "Gonzo" Gonzalez *

Elisha Henig Elisha Henig (born October 30, 2004) is an American actor. Personal life and career Elisha Henig grew up in Portland, Oregon, and became interested in acting after taking a Shakespeare class at the age of eight. He began acting in guest roles ...

as Myles Crimmins * Jeanine Jackson as Proud Nun * Cayleb Long as "Hot Janitor" * Connor Williams as Ethan Owens * Matt Bennett as Gavin Landers * Taylor Misiak as Abby Samuels * Isaac Lamb as Matthew Gesualdi * Luke Wyngarden as Nick Bradley

Episodes

Season 1 (2017)

Season 2 (2018)

Production

Development

Creators Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault sought to create a satire of true crime documentaries such as '' Serial'', ''

'', and '' The Jinx''. Yacenda and Perrault came up with the idea for the show in early 2016 and subsequently pitched it to Netflix, which agreed to distribute the show after being assured that the show would be "more than just a dick joke sketch." Yacenda and Perrault, who had previously worked on short-form videos for outlets such as

Funny or Die Funny or Die is a comedy video website and film/television production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and Chris Henchy in 2007. The website contained exclusive material from a re ...

and

CollegeHumor CollegeHumor is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles. Aside from producing content for release on YouTube, it was also a former humor website owned by InterActiveCorp ( IAC) until January 2020, when IAC withdrew funding and the websi ...

, were joined by showrunner Dan Lagana, who had most recently worked on the television series '' Deadbeat''. Lagana took charge of hiring writers for the show, choosing individuals with relatively little experience in writing for television. The creators developed the central mystery in the course of writing the show, and sought to strike a balance between humor and the creation of an engrossing mystery. On August 3, 2017, it was announced that

had ordered and produced a new

series entitled ''American Vandal'' and that it was set to premiere on September 15, 2017. The series was created by Tony Yacenda and Daniel Perrault who were set to executive produce alongside Dan Lagana, Joe Farrell, Ari Lubet, Josh Lieberman, and Michael Rotenberg. Lagana was expected to act as showrunner on the series as well. Production companies involved with the series include CBS Television Studios, Funny or Die and 3 Arts Entertainment. Shortly after the release of the first season, Yacenda and Perrault discussed the possibility of a second season, with the same documentary crew creating a documentary on a different crime. On October 26, 2017, it was announced that Netflix had renewed the series for a second season. On August 21, 2018, it was announced that the second season would premiere on September 14, 2018. On October 26, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had canceled the series after two seasons, however it was also reported that producers intend to shop the program to other venues.

Casting

In casting the show, the creators avoided

stunt casting Stunt casting is the use of a gimmick or publicity stunt to fill a role in a television series, film, or theatre production. Alongside the initial series announcement, it was reported that the series' cast would include Tyler Alvarez, Jimmy Tatro, Griffin Gluck, Camille Hyde, Eduardo Franco, Jessica Juarez, Lou Wilson, Camille Ramsey, Calum Worthy, Lukas Gage and G Hannelius. On March 14, 2018, it was announced that Travis Tope and Melvin Gregg had been cast in the series' lead roles for season two. On April 4, 2018, it was announced that Adam Ray had joined the cast in a recurring capacity. On June 14, 2018, Tony Yacenda, Dan Lagana, and Dan Perrault confirmed that Alvarez and Gluck would return as Peter and Sam, investigating a new crime in a Catholic high school. On August 21, 2018, it was announced that Taylor Dearden and DeRon Horton had joined the main cast of season two.

Release

On August 3, 2017, the official trailer for season one was released. On August 21, 2018, the official trailer for season two was released.

Reception

Critical response

Season 1

The first season of the series was met with critical acclaim upon release. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the first season holds an approval rating of 98% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 8.34/10. The site's consensus reads, "''American Vandal'' pays satirical dividends while also working as a genuinely absorbing mystery that offers thought-provoking commentary on modern entertainment." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the series has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Writing for '' The Ringer'', Mark Titus praised the show's subtle humor, engrossing plot, and realistic representation of high school. Robert Lloyd of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' described ''American Vandal'' as a "perfectly proportioned

pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking i ...

" of true crime documentaries. Steve Greene of ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

'' praised the "incredible sense of authenticity" in the performances and the series's exploration of the popularity of the true crime genre. The series has also been praised for its attention to detail when depicting social media interactions. Writing for

VICE A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

, Shailee Koranne described ''American Vandal'''s portrayal of social media as "absolutely accurate and incredibly nuanced." ''American Vandal'' was honored with a

for its first season on April 19, 2018. Calling it a "surprisingly insightful rumination on contemporary life... the show also offers a look at how the ethical questions of the true crime genre intersect with the harsh realities of being a teenager in the age of social media."

Season 2

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds an approval rating of 98% on an average rating of 8.07 out of 10, based on 47 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "''American Vandal'' trades one type of potty humor for another in an ambitious second season that manages to double down on the explicit gags while subtly addressing serious social issues." On Metacritic, the season received a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{Netflix original ended series (2012–2018) 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American high school television series 2010s American mockumentary television series 2010s American satirical television series 2010s American teen drama television series 2017 American television series debuts 2018 American television series endings English-language Netflix original programming Television series about teenagers Television series about filmmaking Television series by 3 Arts Entertainment Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Funny or Die Television series set in 2016 Television series set in 2017 Television series set in 2018 Television shows set in California Television shows set in Washington (state)