Julie and the Phantoms: More Than Just a Kid's Show

Based on the 2011 Brazilian show Julie e os Fantasmas, Netflix’s 2020 hit musical dramedy does way more than the traditional kid’s show it could have been.

I’m a little bit embarrassed to say that I’m a sucker for a good boy band. Netflix definitely knew what they were doing by opening Julie and the Phantoms, the latest from Kenny Ortega of High School Musical and Descendants fame, with a song that’s just angsty enough from the (soon to be) ghost band Sunset Curve. It certainly got me hooked.

I know this show wasn’t necessarily made for me as a twenty-something, but amidst the current tidal waves of pessimism and uncertainty, Julie and the Phantoms gave me everything I could possibly ask for from a piece of media. It’s uplifting and jazzy in the way only the niche genre of teen musical dramedies can be, but also has a certain depth that’s atypical for the genre.

Death and regret are unavoidable subjects given the fact that half of the characters are ghosts of 17-year-old boys (Charlie Gillespie, Owen Patrick Joyner, and Jeremy Shada), but the show makes a choice to explore those themes more fully instead of letting the idea of a ghost band be just a gimmick. We also meet Julie (Madison Reyes) as she’s still reeling over the loss of her mother about a year ago. Her mother’s death isn’t just a cheap plot device as is so often the case; we get to see Julie work through her grief throughout the show with the support of family, friends, and music—the last connection she has to her mother. Reyes’ depiction of grief is complex and even beautiful, especially when she expresses it though music.

This idea of music as a lifeline is what brings Julie and the boys together in the first place. They’re all coping with loss—just from opposite perspectives. This foil creates interesting conversations about regret and death between someone who feels left behind and three people who were forced to leave too soon. That common ground builds the foundation of the band’s unique relationship: the boys—Luke (Gillespie) in particular— help Julie find the confidence and motivation to jump back into music as a metaphor for life in general, while Julie’s spirit(?) has the power to make the boys visible to the rest of the world when they play together. Thanks to this fantastical and slightly ridiculous premise, the show remains a musical comedy at heart, with plenty goofy and endearing exchanges and sparkly, uplifting songs to balance out some of the heavier moments.

Even though it might have been easier to abandon the darker themes once the band embarks on their journey together playing song after song of hopeful and inspiring music, they remain an important part of the show’s narrative in different ways. To me, this is what really sets Julie and the Phantoms apart from other shows of its kind. Every episode has the potential to make you laugh and cry because it’s able to find a balance between charming subplots and confronting loss. It got me so emotionally invested that as soon as I finished all nine episodes in one night, I immediately circled back to start is all over again.

All of the deeper meaning aside, the music is what really makes the show a standout. I was drawn in by Sunset Curve’s high energy performance of “Now or Never” and stayed for Julie’s simultaneously tearful and joyful ballad “Wake Up.” For a show about the power of music to move people, they found the perfect lead in then-15-year-old newcomer Madison Reyes. Her voice is a force to be reckoned with and demands attention and empathy from the audience, from that emotional first ballad to the fun and sarcastic “Flying Solo,” which celebrates the joy of teenage best friendship. She’s even better when the musical chemistry between Julie and Luke is explored in songs like “Edge of Great.” Clearly I’m not the only one fell in love with the music– the album reached #1 on the iTunes Soundtrack Chart, #4 on Billboard’s Soundtrack Chart, and has over 164 million streams on Spotify.

It’s been months since Julie and the Phantoms came out and I watched it for the first time, but I just can’t get it out of my head. Sure, it’s cheesy and the ghost lore is loosely explained and mildly inconsistent, but I’m more than willing to overlook that. Here’s hoping for a season 2, which still has yet to be confirmed by Netflix.