Unpopular seniors Erika Vu and Gia strive to make a name for themselves before graduation by attending a party. Jake C. breaks up with his on-and-off girlfriend Riley. Erika and Gia get closer to their crushes Jake C. and Jake W., respectively, and consider asking them out to prom. Waking up hungover, they last remember walking home from the party and seeing a car speed toward them. They return to where they walked and are shocked to see a corpse covered by a moose. On the corpse's feet are Erika's shoes.
2
"Resting Bitch Face"
Lauren Iungerich
Lauren Iungerich
July 8, 2022 (2022-07-08)
Erika concludes that she is a ghost, and regrets not living her life to the fullest before. She discovers she is able to tamper with electronic devices. She meets with the Afterlifers, a group of teens interested in the paranormal, who suggest that ghosts exist when they have unfinished business. She realizes her unfinished business is to kiss Jake C., so she rushes to a hangout he invited her hours ago, only to find she is late and that Jake C. has returned to Riley.
3
"Payback's a Bitch"
Erin Ehrlich
Erin Ehrlich
July 8, 2022 (2022-07-08)
The Afterlifers explain to Erika that if a ghost doesn't complete their unfinished business before their corpse decomposes, the ghost will fade away and be forced to haunt for eternity. Worried, Erika apologizes to Jake C. for not making it to his hangout, and he invites her to a friend's promposal. Before she plans to kiss Jake C. and ascend, she says goodbye to her family and Gia. She befriends Riley, who asks Erika not to date Jake C. Erika kisses Jake C., but is confused when she doesn't ascend.
4
"Bitch Slapped"
Erin Ehrlich
Tim Schauer & Kuba Soltysiak
July 8, 2022 (2022-07-08)
Erika thinks that her unfinished business is actually going to prom with Jake C. They host a party so they can ask both their crushes to prom. Gia is saddened to see Erika take the credit for their party, Jake W. date someone else, and that no one seems to notice her. She meets Gavin, the medium from the Afterlifers, and kisses him. Jake C. agrees to go to prom with Erika. Riley angrily confronts Erika for taking her ex-boyfriend to prom, but Erika defends herself and asks her to leave the party. As the crowd celebrates Erika, Gia sulks behind.
Erika skyrockets in popularity after her party and confrontation with Riley. Her relationships with Gia and Jake C. are strained when she focuses on her popularity over them. When she obsesses over an anonymous troll comment, Riley offers to help her manage her new stardom. Erika lies to Gia so she can hang out with Riley. It is revealed that Gia left the hate comment.
6
"Who Dat Bitch?"
Kimberly McCullough
Sonia Kharkar
July 8, 2022 (2022-07-08)
Erika starts to hang out more with Riley rather than Gia. Gia begs Erika to spend more time with her before she ascends by the time of prom, but Erika instead worries that she doesn't have enough time to enjoy her new stardom. The Afterlifers explain that a ghost can stay in their ghost body if they are more famous in death than in life. Erika goads her classmates into cancelling prom in a popularity stunt. Gia and Jake C. accuse her of not caring about anyone else. Erika and Gia fight in the forest near the corpse, where they are surprised to find that the corpse is actually Gia's.
7
"Bad Bitch"
Kimberly McCullough
Stefanie Leder
July 8, 2022 (2022-07-08)
A flashback shows that Gia was the one who got hit by the moose, and that ghost Gia replaced her corpse's shoes with Erika's. Gia explains that she didn't want Erika to feel guilty for her death, but Erika accuses her of being selfish. Gia tells Erika that she is slowly fading away and that she wishes to reconcile with her. She is incredulous when Erika instead asks her to delete some blackmail on Erika. Everyone at school starts hating Erika for cancelling prom and Jake C. breaks up with Erika. Gia breaks up with Gavin to spare his feelings for when she disappears. Gavin talks to his friends about Gia, but his friends don't recall ever seeing Gia since the party.
Erika realizes that Gia was invisible to everyone except her and Gavin since she was a ghost. Erika asks for a sign of what to do, and she receives a message telling her to go to prom. Gia appears at prom and says goodbye to Erika and dances with Gavin. Erika gives a speech honoring Gia's memory, and as all the students chant Gia's name, she ascends. Erika reconciles with Jake C. and her classmates. In college, Erika sees a sign that Gia is still with her and smiles.
Production
Development
On February 5, 2021, Netflix gave production a limited series order consisting of eight episodes. The series is created by Tim Schauer, Kuba Soltysiak, Erin Ehrlich, Lauren Iungerich. Ehrlich and Iungerich are also are expected to executive produce alongside Lana Condor, Jonathon Komack Martin, Blake Goza, and Jamie Dooner.[1] The series premiered on July 8, 2022.[2]
Casting
Upon the limited series order announcement, Condor was also cast to star.[5] On August 27, 2021, Zoe Colletti, Mason Versaw, and Aparna Brielle joined the cast as series regulars while Tenzing Norgay Trainor and Jason Genao were cast in recurring capacities.[3] On June 13, 2022, it was reported that Jami Alix, Madison Thompson, and Reid Miller joined the cast in undisclosed capacities.[4]
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 50% approval rating with an average rating of 5.6/10, based on 18 critic reviews.[6]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 49 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[7]
The series was praised for the cast's acting skills, however the script was heavily criticized for trying to be too similar to the 2004 film 'Mean Girls' and the 2019 film 'Booksmart.'[8]
