How First Kill Puts a Fantasy Twist on Romeo and Juliet

Here’s something to sink your teeth into.

Netflix’s First Kill is the perfect show for those seeking a dark love story with supernatural (and Shakespearean) undertones. In the YA series, teens Juliette (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Calliope Burns (Imani Lewis) are the ultimate star-crossed lovers, having both been born into centuries-old feuding families. To make matters worse, they both need to make their first kill.

Calliope descends from a long line of monster hunters and has two older brothers. “Her biggest thing is just trying to prove to her family that she deserves respect as a monster hunter,” Imani explained in an exclusive featurette, “instead of just the teenage little sister.”

While Calliope wants to feel a sense of belonging, Juliette is trying to distance herself from her vampire family and be a “normal girl.” Juliette can’t just stop being a vampire though, Sarah said, so “there’s all this pressure to drop the whole ‘I want to be human, I want to be normal’ and embrace this incredible matriarchy.”