''Freakish'' is an American horror

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...

series that premiered on October 10, 2016, on

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

. The series features several high-profile social-media stars and celebrities—including

Liza Koshy Elizabeth Shaila "Liza" Koshy (born March 31, 1996), is an American media personality and actress. Her main YouTube channel has amassed more than 17 million subscribers, and her two channels have a combined total of over 3 billion views. She ha ...

, Hayes Grier, Meghan Rienks, Leo Howard, and

Aislinn Paul Aislinn Claire Paul (; born March 5, 1994) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' as Clare Edwards, for which she has won two Canadian Screen Awards (2015 and 2016) for Best Performance in a C ...

—and focuses on a group of high-school students who are trapped inside their school when a nearby chemical plant explodes, resulting in residents and other infected students turning into mutated freaks. In July 2018, it was reported that the series had been cancelled after two seasons.

Premise

The series follows a group of students who gather for school detention on a Saturday at Kent High. Other students are on campus as well, but involved in various activities (basketball, debate prep, music, etc.). When a nearby chemical plant explodes, they must work together to find a way to survive with only limited resources and protect themselves from those who have turned into freakish zombie-like creatures as a result of the fallout.

Characters

Main

* Leo Howard as Grover Jones: a high school student who becomes a survivor at the high school after attending detention so that he can spend time with his crush, Violet Adams *

as Violet Adams: a high school student who becomes a survivor in the school after getting detention for her lack of patience and tendency to lash out *

Adam Hicks Adam Paul Nielson Hicks (born November 28, 1992) is an American actor, rapper, singer, and songwriter. His first leading role was in '' How to Eat Fried Worms''. He was also known for playing Luther in the Disney XD series '' Zeke and Luther'' ...

as Diesel Turner: a high school student who becomes a survivor in the school after attending detention for bullying younger students *

as Natalie Callaway (season 1): a high school student who becomes a survivor in the school * Meghan Rienks as Zoe Parker: a high school cheer captain who becomes a survivor in the school after attending detention *

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 Lashawn Deveraux: a high school student who becomes a survivor in the school with his best friend, Noodle and girlfriend, Zoe * Tyler Chase as Barrett McIntyre: a high school student who becomes a survivor in the school and has a talent for hacking and problem solving * Hayes Grier as Noodle Nelson (season 1): Lashawn's best friend who becomes a survivor in the school after attending detention *

Niki DeMar Nicola Teresa DeMartino and Gabriella Nelida DeMartino (born May 5, 1995), known professionally as Niki and Gabi, are an American twin duo of singers, social media influencers, YouTubers and actresses. In 2018, the duo released their debut e ...

as Sadie (season 2): a member of a secondary group of survivors who later find shelter at the school *

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 Anka Keller (season 2): a member of a secondary group of survivors who later find shelter at the school *

Jordan Calloway Jordan Calloway is an American actor. He is known for his role as Zach Carter-Schwartz on the Nickelodeon series ''Unfabulous'' (2004–2007). Calloway has also had recurring roles on NBC's '' ER'' (2005–2006), as well as The CW series '' Riverd ...

as Zane Hiatt (season 2): Violet's ex-boyfriend and a member of a secondary group of survivors who later find shelter at the school

Recurring

Mary Mouser Mary Mouser is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Samantha LaRusso in the Netflix series ''Cobra Kai'', and Lacey Fleming on the ABC series ''Body of Proof''. She also took over the role of Karen Grant, Fitz & Mellie's daught ...

as Mary Jones (season 1) *

Alex Ozerov Alex Ozerov (born 1992) is a Canadian actor. He is most noted for his performance in the short film '' Pyotr495'', for which he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance in a Digital Program or Series at the 7th Canadian Screen Awar ...

as Lyle (season 1) * Chad L. Coleman as Coach (season 1) *

Chad Michael Collins Chad Michael Collins (born September 22, 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for his leading role in the Sniper (film series), ''Sniper'' film series. Biography He graduated from college in New York before moving to Los Angeles. He th ...

as John Collins (season 1) * Olivia Gonzales as Addy (season 1) * Amanda Steele as Hailey (season 2) *

Jake Busey William Jacob Busey is an American actor. Among his most prominent roles have been serial killer Johnny Bartlett in 1996's ''The Frighteners'', Ace Levy in 1997's ''Starship Troopers'', Kyle Brenner in 2001's '' Tomcats'', Aiden Tanner in the 20 ...

as Earl (season 2) *

Brant Daugherty Brant David Daugherty (born August 20, 1985) is an American actor, known for his recurring role as Noel Kahn on the teen drama television series ''Pretty Little Liars''. In 2013, he had a recurring role as Brian in the NBC daytime drama ''Days ...

as Jake (season 2) * Tati Gabrielle as Birdie (season 2) *

Ryan McCartan Ryan Jerome McCartan (born June 14, 1993) is an American actor and singer. As an actor, he is known for playing Jason "J.D." Dean in the original off-Broadway production of '' Heathers: The Musical'' (2014) and for playing Brad Majors in the 201 ...

as Oliver Keller (season 2) *

Joy Osmanski Joy Osmanski is a South Korean-born American actress. She is best known for her wide range of comedic roles on the TV shows '' The Loop'', ''Samantha Who?'', ''True Jackson, VP'' and ''Devious Maids''. Joy is also known for her recurring role on ...

as Felicity (season 2) *

Arden Cho Arden Lim Cho (born August 16, 1985) is an American actress, singer and model known for portraying Kira Yukimura in the 2011 MTV television series ''Teen Wolf'' and Ingrid Yun in the 2022 Netflix television series ''Partner Track''. Early life ...

as Tonya (season 2)

Guest

* Caitlin Carver as Elise (season 2) * Raushanah Simmons as Poe (season 2)

Episodes

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2017)

Production

''Freakish'' is produced by AwesomenessTV and was created by Beth Szymkowski. Hulu acquired exclusive streaming rights during production of the program. The show premiered on October 10, 2016. Hulu renewed the series for a second season, which consisted of 10 episodes and premiered on October 18, 2017. On July 27, 2018, it was reported that the series had been canceled due to low ratings.

Reception

Critical response

Sonia Saraiya writing for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the show "a silly, lightweight half-hour, somewhere between horror thriller and teen soap" and ultimately said "The show never quite becomes interesting enough to transcend either the dully predictable beats of zombie horror or the plodding angst of young adulthood." Neil Genzlinger for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said of the show "Here in the age of zombie TV, lots about 'Freakish' seems familiar, but with the episodes shorter than a half-hour each, the series goes down easily." Emily Longeretta at Hollywoodlife.com described the show as "'' The Walking Dead'' meets ''

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The ...

.''" 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 ...

season 1 has 4 reviews, 3 were positive and 1 was negative.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{Hulu 2010s American high school television series 2010s American horror television series 2016 American television series debuts 2017 American television series endings American horror fiction television series Awesomeness (company) English-language television shows Hulu original programming Television series about teenagers Zombies in television Zombie web series