‘Sweet Tooth’ Netflix: Everything We Know

Netflix’s next hit series might be just around the corner when Sweet Tooth premieres next month. The show premieres on Friday, June 4. If you’re feeling behind on the hype, here’s a quick run-down of everything we know about Sweet Tooth so far.

Sweet Tooth is an adaptation of a comic book by the same name, written and illustrated by Jeff Lemire and published by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint starting in 2009. The show has had a unique journey through the production process as well, picking up some big names and legends of the comic book adaptation genre. The series stars SNL alum Will Forte and is narrated by James Brolin.

Sweet Tooth has been highly anticipated in the comic book world, and it made a big splash with its trailer last week. Some who are behind on the source material or even just the elevator pitch might need a quick jump start to get the excitement going, so here’s what we know about Sweet Tooth so far.

Premise

Lemire sometimes refers to Sweet Tooth ad “Mad Max meets Bambi.” The series is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the real world at some point in the future. The story begins ten years after “The Great Crumble” — a cataclysmic event that wreaked havoc on the world and preceded the rise of “hybrids,” or part human, part animal people.

Hybrids have some mysterious connection with a virus plaguing the world as well, so some humans hunt them out of fear or hatred. However, the main character, Gus (Christian Convery) grows up in a sheltered Nebraska forest with his father (Will Forte) and knows little of the outside world. That all changes when he befriends a wanderer named Jepperd (Nonso Anozie). The two take the audience along as they explore what’s left of the U.S.

A-List Cast

As previously mentioned, Forte plays Convery’s father and Brolin narrates the entire series. Anozie is well-known for playing Sergeant Dap in Ender’s Game and playing Xaro Xhoan Daxos in Game of Thrones. Other cast members include Adeel Akhtar of Murdered by My Father, Dania Ramirez of Heroes, Neil Sandilands of The 100, Stefania LaVie Owen of Running Wilde and Aliza Vellani of The X-Files and Riverdale.

Comic Book Origins

Sweet Tooth began its life as a comic book in 2009, with scripts and illustrations by Lemire, letters by Patt Brosseau, colors by Jose Villarrubia and editors Brandon Montclare and Bob Schreck. The book was originally planned to be just 12 issues released monthly for a year, but even Lemire noted early on that that was subject to change. The series ended with 40 issues, the last of which was a special double-sized installment.

In November of 2020, DC Comics Black Label published the first issue of a sequel series called Sweet Tooth: The Return. It is set 300 years after the main series and incorporates more sci-fi and horror elements earlier on. It’s not clear how long the series will go on, but it provides plenty of room for the TV show to go as long as possible.

Streaming Wars

A Sweet Tooth TV adaptation was first announced in November of 2018, but at the time Hulu had the rights to it. The streamer ordered a pilot for the series, which came from Jim Mickle with Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey — all of whom are still involved in the final product. In April of 2020, the series jumped from Hulu to Netflix, according to a report by our sister site, ComicBook.com. Netflix then ordered a full 8-episode season.

Sadly, this was a bad time for Sweet Tooth to begin filming due to the coronavirus pandemic, which complicated production in New Zealand throughout the year. However, production wrapped in December, and fans are more than ready to see the series for themselves. Sweet Tooth premieres on Friday, June 4 on Netflix.