''Deadly Class'' is an American action drama television series developed by

Rick Remender Rick Remender (born February 6, 1973) is an American animator, comic book writer and television producer who resides in Los Angeles, California. As a comic book creator, he is best known for his work on ''Uncanny X-Force'', ''Venom'', ''Captain ...

and Miles Orion Feldsott for Syfy. It is based on the comic book series of the same name created by Remender and Wesley Craig and published by

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

. The series stars

Benedict Wong Benedict Wong (born 3 July 1971) is an English actor. He began his career on stage before starring in the film '' Dirty Pretty Things'' (2002), which earned him a British Independent Film Award nomination, and the BBC sitcom '' 15 Storeys High ...

, Benjamin Wadsworth,

Lana Condor Lana Therese Condor (born Trần Đồng Lan; May 11, 1997) is an American actress and YouTuber. She made her acting debut starring as Jubilee (comics), Jubilee in the superhero film ''X-Men: Apocalypse'' (2016), and gained international recogni ...

, María Gabriela de Faría, Luke Tennie,

Liam James Liam James (born August 7, 1996) is a Canadian actor, known for his role as Noah Curtis in the 2009 film ''2012'', young Shawn Spencer on the USA Network television series ''Psych'', and the lead character, Duncan, in 2013's ''The Way, Way Back ...

, and

Michel Duval Michel Duval (born Michel Dussauge, February 10, 1994) is a Mexican actor, singer, songwriter, composer and model, who is best known for portraying Salvador Acero in Telemundo's '' Senora Acero''. Early life Michel Duval was born on February 10 ...

. Set in the late 1980s, the series revolves around King's Dominion, an elite private academy where students are trained to become assassins. The series was produced by

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

and

Universal Cable Productions Universal Content Productions LLC (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. History Universal Cable Productions In July ...

, in association with Gozie AGBO, Chipmunk Hill, Getaway Productions, Giant Generator and 2 Miles Entertainment. Anthony Russo and Joe Russo served as executive producers alongside Remender, Feldsott, Mick Betancourt, Lee Toland Krieger, Mike Larocca, and Adam Targum. In November 2017, casting began for a pilot ordered by Syfy. In April 2018, the series was picked up for an order of 10 episodes. Filming took place in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. The first episode premiered as a special preview online on December 20, 2018 and on Syfy on December 30; the series officially premiered on January 16, 2019. It received mixed reviews from critics, with many praising the cast, visuals, and choreography while criticizing the tone and pacing. The series was canceled in June 2019.

Premise

Set in a dark, heightened world against the backdrop of late 1980s

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

, ''Deadly Class'' follows a homeless, disillusioned teen, Marcus Lopez Arguello, who is recruited into King's Dominion, a storied elite private school chiefly serving the offspring of the world's top crime families. Maintaining his moral code while surviving a ruthless curriculum, vicious social cliques, and his own adolescent uncertainties soon prove vital for the youth.

Cast and characters

Main

as Master Lin, the ruthless, no-nonsense headmaster of King's Dominion * Benjamin Wadsworth as Marcus Lopez Arguello, King's Dominion's newest addition and Saya's pledge *

as , the leader of the Kuroki Syndicate and Marcus's sponsor * María Gabriela de Faría as Maria Salazar, a member of the Soto Vatos and Chico's former girlfriend * Luke Tennie as Willie Lewis, leader of the F.W.O. (Final World Order) and Marcus's best friend at King's Dominion *

as Billy Bennett, a punk rocker who is one of Marcus's best friends and the son of a corrupt, drug smuggling cop *

as Chico, the leader of the Soto Vatos, and Maria's former boyfriend

Recurring

* Taylor Hickson as Petra, a goth hailing from a death cult *

Siobhan Williams Siobhan Williams (born 10 January) is a British-born Canadian actress. Career Williams's first role was as recurring character Jamie Lewis on ''Heartland (Canadian TV series), Heartland''. In 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Fox's ''Flicka: C ...

as Brandy Lynn, a racist

Southern belle "Southern belle" () is a colloquialism for a debutante or other fashionable young woman of European heritage in the planter class of the Antebellum South, particularly as a romantic counterpart to the Southern gentleman. Characteristics Th ...

and the leader of the Dixie Mob * Sean Depner as Viktor, notorious as the son of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's top assassin * Jack Gillett as Lex Miller, an easygoing outcast *

Isaiah Lehtinen Isaiah Lehtinen (born 26 January 1998) is a Canadian actor and musician. He attracted critical acclaim for his performance in Chandler Levack's 2022 film '' I Like Movies'', for which he won the Vancouver Film Critics Circle award for Best Act ...

as Shabnam, son of a wealthy banker who is shunned by his peers * Juan Grey as Juan, a member of Maria's clique Soto Vatos * Tom Stevens as Chester "Fuckface" Wilson, Marcus's psychopathic bunkmate * Sam Jin Coates as , a member of the Kuroki Syndicate and a student at King's Dominion *

Brian Posehn Brian Posehn (; born July 6, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, musician, and writer. After numerous appearances as a television guest star, Posehn acquired his first major recurring role in HBO's '' Mr. Show with Bob a ...

as Dwight Shandy, an aging stoner * Olivia Cheng as Madame Gao, head of that assassins guild and Master Lin's sister *

David Zayas David Zayas (born August 15, 1962) is a Puerto Rican actor. He is best known for his roles as Angel Batista on the Showtime series ''Dexter'' and Enrique Morales on the HBO prison drama series '' Oz''. Early life Zayas was born in Ponce, Pu ...

as El Alma Del Diablo, Chico's father * Viva Lee as Nahia, Master Lin's daughter * Victor Andrés Trelles Turgeon as Holy Ghost, El Diablo's enforcer

Guest

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, comedian, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1 ...

as Jürgen Denke, former Poison Lab instructor *

Erica Cerra Erica Cerra (born October 31, 1979) is a Canadian actress. Her credits include ''Special Unit 2'' (2001), '' Dead Like Me'' (2003), ''The L Word'' (2004), '' Blade:Trinity'' (2004), ''The Collector'' (2004), '' The Dead Zone'' (2004), '' Huff'' ( ...

as Miss De Luca, Hand-to-Hand Combat instructor *

Ryan Robbins Ryan John Currier (born November 26, 1972), better known as Ryan Robbins, is a Canadian actor. Early life Robbins was born in Victoria, British Columbia. Career Robbins is known for his roles as Ladon Radim in ''Stargate Atlantis'', Henry Fo ...

as Rory Heemsle, homeless man who terrorized and preyed on other homeless individuals * Graeme Meekison as Jaden, an attending student at King's Dominion * Theresa Wong as Shu, Master Lin's wife * Kelcey Mawema as Gabrielle, a young woman who befriends and romances Willie *

Christopher Heyerdahl Christopher Heyerdahl (born September 18, 1963) is a Canadian actor who portrayed Alastair (Supernatural), Alastair in ''Supernatural (American TV series), Supernatural,'' the Wraith (Stargate), Wraith Todd in ''Stargate Atlantis'', Sam in ''Van ...

as Master Zane, combat skills instructor *

French Stewart Milton French-Stewart (born February 20, 1964), known professionally as French Stewart, is an American actor. He played Harry Solomon on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun'', Inspector Gadget in the superhero comedy film '' Inspector Gadget ...

as Scorpio Slasher, psychopathy instructor * Chanelle Peloso as Sue Ann, Chester's ally *

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

as himself * Doralynn Mui as , a top lieutenant in the Kuroki Syndicate

Episodes

Episode titles are taken from

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

songs of the 1980s.

Production

Principal casting for the pilot of the series was released by Syfy in November 2017, with

, Benjamin Wadsworth,

, María Gabriela de Faría, Luke Tennie,

and

announced as the pilot's leads. It was picked up to series by Syfy on April 18, 2018, for a planned 2019 debut. The visual effects for the series, including the Las Vegas sequence in Episode 5, were created by

FuseFX FuseFX (formerly known as The Outfit) is an American special visual effects company which was founded in Los Angeles, California in 2006 by David Altenau, Tim Jacobsen and Jason Fotter. The company is best known for developing special visual ef ...

, CVDVFX, Zoic and One. Six One Eight.

Reception

Critical response

On the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

, the series has an approval rating of 64% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 6.23/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Despite well executed action and smart casting, ''Deadly Class'' struggles to meet the mark set by other spooky teen shows."

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

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 58 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Ratings

Notes

References

External links

* {{Syfy Shows 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American high school television series 2019 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings American action television series American English-language television shows Boarding school television series Japan in non-Japanese culture Syfy original programming American television series about teenagers Television series about organized crime Television series based on Image Comics Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Universal Cable Productions Television series set in 1987 Television shows set in San Francisco Works about Mexican drug cartels Works about the Yakuza