Deadly Class: Why the show didn’t work and how it can be redone
By Mark Lynch
The Syfy Channel wasn’t the right choice
This isn’t going to be kind, but it will be true. Among the many TV channels and streaming platforms to choose from, Syfy isn’t the channel that the masses are picking. Sure, when you’re looking for Sharknado or another random amalgamation of animals to kill humans, they’re the place to go. Otherwise, it’s not the greatest channel for a show like this.
A comic book show that isn’t coming from the big two (DC and Marvel Comics) isn’t going to get a lot of hits. It doesn’t help that cable itself isn’t doing as well as it once did. People are watching streaming platforms more and more every day. Not just to binge either. Shows that come out once a week like The Handmaid’s Tale remain must-see and most-watched programming.
Another problem with Syfy is they couldn’t really tell the tale properly. Syfy isn’t HBO, Amazon, or Netflix. They can get away with certain things that’s only acceptable there. Deadly Class had a plethora of drug use and bad language that Syfy just wouldn’t be able to explore to the extent that other networks could have. There was a lot of graphic violence as well.
While you’d get that same blood and gore in the aforementioned Sharknado, or Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus, it’s different when it’s teenage kids getting slaughtered or beaten left and right. It can be a bit intense.
Long story short, Syfy wasn’t the proper channel to produce Deadly Class.