If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call? Ghost—actually, pause on that phone call.
In this case of Netflix’s “Boo Bitch,” the only thing that’s haunted is a high school locker and maybe TikTok’s For You page. Unlike other spirits, Erika Vu (Lana Condor) doesn’t spend her afterlife hiding in Victorian Mansions or creepy closets. Instead, the high school senior is relentless in her quest for post-mortem popularity and social media clout. At Erika’s side are her best friend Gia (Zoe Colletti), and wacky spirit medium Gavin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor). But the biggest goal for the dearly departed is stealing her crush, Jake C. from mean girl Riley (Aparna Brielle).
But Insta fame is a hell of a drug, and Erika finds herself on the path of becoming a horrible person and her ghostly form has little to do with the change. Condor recently explained that she was excited to portray mild-mannered Erika’s transformation into something else entirely. “I’ve never played a character that’s so bright and bold, and that makes horrible choices,” Condor said in an interview with Character Media. “She’s very unlikeable at times.”
Whacky supernatural hijinks and teenage angst aside, “Boo, Bitch” also brings attention to complex topics like grief. Brielle noted the importance of those topics in the series, especially given the series’ premiere after the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The last couple of years, we’ve all seen such tremendous and devasting amount of loss, whether you were affected on a personal level, or if your community has faced it,” she said. “All the themes that are explored in this [show] are confusing things to navigate; there is no right way to navigate. It’s difficult, and it’s important to talk about these things.”
In addition to grief, the two spoke about the importance of friendship on the show and the significance of seeing two female Asian characters leading the show. Don’t forget to watch the full interview above, and if you ain’t afraid of no ghost, catch “Boo, Bitch” on Netflix now!
