Syfy has come a long way with original programming in recent years. Once synonymous with cringe-worthy production quality, shows like Channel Zero and The Expanse have been critically lauded as solid programming.
Recently Joe and Anthony Russo created a pilot for a television adaptation of the comic book series Deadly Class . The show was ultimately picked up by Syfy for a full season which will span 10 episodes. According to a recent report from Indiewire , that pilot is now available for free to fans wishing to check the series out before it officially begins airing in 2019.
Aside from being available on Syfy’s app, website, and on demand, Deadly Class is also available for viewing on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter as well. Earlier in the year, Deadly Class was debuted at New York Comic-Con. According to reports, the show’s pilot will be available on Syfy’s official outlets until January 15, while other platforms like Facebook and Twitter will only be hosting the show until January 1.
Released in 2014, the original graphic novel was written by Wes Craig and Rick Remender. To date, seven volumes of the graphic novel have been released with Deadly Class – Vol. 8: Never Go Back slated for release on April 16, 2019.
As with the graphic novels, Syfy’s forthcoming series is set in the 1980s. Benjamin Wadsworth stars in Deadly Class as a homeless teenager named Marcus who is recruited to a special school called King’s Dominion. King’s Dominion is home to a number of students whose parents are dangerous assassins and crime bosses. Marcus struggles to remain true to his moral principals while attending a school that expects him to do the opposite.
Deadly Class also stars Luke Tennie, Liam James, Benedict Wong, Lana Condor, and Maria Gabriela de Faria.
Watch the entire first episode of #DeadlyClass weeks before the series’ premiere: https://t.co/0eGsqKCUs2 pic.twitter.com/hnwj93RfRE
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) December 20, 2018
While the pilot just dropped, some reviews have already come out praising Deadly Class. Russ Burlingame of Comic Book lauded it as “One of the best Comic Book TV Pilots Ever”
Deadly Class is a series that features a handful of tropes that should not work, but do. Marcus’s voiceover had the potential to spell doom for the pilot, but Benjamin Wadsworth delivers it with such believably raw emotion that it snatches greatness from the jaws of mediocrity. With ’80s nostalgia running wild in popular culture, yet another gritty, violent series set against the backdrop of 1987 might feel redundant — but rather than taking the small-town approach of Stranger Things or It , Deadly Class explores the underground punk scene of late ’80s San Francisco.
Syfy’s original series Deadly Class officially comes to the channel on January 16, 2019, at 10 p.m. EST.