“There’s something dangerous about the boredom of teenage girls,” Addy (Herizen F. Guardiola) muses in the trailer for upcoming USA Network series Dare Me. Fans of Megan Abbott’s novel of the same name know she’s right.
Dare Me, per a press release from USA, is “an unflinching exploration of teen angst, jealousy, loyalty and the dynamics of power in a small Midwestern town, set against the backdrop of competitive high school cheerleading.”
The trailer for the upcoming show teases a fraught relationship between members of the cheerleading squad and their new coach Collette, played by The Goldfinch’s Willa Fitzgerald. Beth (Marlo Kelly) questions the “fancy new coach” taking over her squad: She isn’t used to acquiescing power to anyone. Addy — Beth’s best friend and the beta to her alpha — warns Collette to be “careful” with the popular cheerleader. Is this tense relationship with the new woman in charge the catalyst for Beth picking up a gun in the trailer?
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Though there’s not much plot available to dissect from the teaser, the trailer evokes an intriguing mood where teens simply having fun has a dark undercurrent.
A scene of Beth and Addy holding a cheerleader as her thighs quiver is legitimately frightening. Beth’s face is a blank stare while Addy looks genuinely terrified of dropping her teammate. Yes, these cheerleaders are in short skirts and covered in glitter, but a peppy Taylor Swift music video, Dare Me is not.
“It was beautiful until it went too far,” the ominous words present in the trailer read.
What does “too far” mean, and what’s so dangerous about Beth and the rest of these troubled teenage girls? From the look of this cheerleader-centric show, it’s far more than botched round offs and dropped flyers. We’re intrigued.
Check out the trailer below. Dare Me premieres December 29 on USA Network.