Daybreak (2019 TV series)


Daybreak is an American post-apocalyptic comedy drama television series created by Brad Peyton and Aron Eli Coleite, based on the comic series by Brian Ralph. It premiered on October 24, 2019, on Netflix and stars Colin Ford, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Sophie Simnett, Austin Crute, Cody Kearsley, Jeanté Godlock, Gregory Kasyan, Krysta Rodriguez, and Matthew Broderick.
In December 2019, Netflix canceled the series after one season.

Synopsis

The series follows the story of 17-year-old Canadian high school outcast Josh Wheeler, who is searching for his missing British girlfriend Sam Dean in post-apocalyptic Glendale, California. He is joined by a ragtag group of misfits, including 10-year-old pyromaniac Angelica and Josh's former high school bully Wesley, who is now a pacifist would-be samurai. Josh tries to survive among the hordes of Mad Max-style gangs, people who have turned into zombie-like creatures called Ghoulies, and the mysterious Baron Triumph.
The leader of the jocks, Turbo, doesn't make things better; his terrible leadership and sadism threatens the remaining survivors.

Cast

Main

  • Colin Ford as Josh Wheeler, a recent transfer student searching for his girlfriend in the apocalypse. He is fourth wall aware, and not narrating out of craziness.
  • Alyvia Alyn Lind as Angelica Green, a 10-year-old pyromaniac. She is a child genius who is somewhat psychopathic.
  • Sophie Simnett as Samaira "Sam" Dean, a popular student and Josh's girlfriend
  • Austin Crute as Wesley Fists, a self-styled rōnin seeking redemption for his past mistakes
  • Cody Kearsley as Turbo "Bro Jock" Pokaski, former quarterback and the unhinged leader of the Jocks. His throat suffered damage during Armageddon, so Turbo can't speak well.
  • Jeanté Godlock as Mona Lisa, a Jock and Turbo's second-in-command
  • Gregory Kasyan as Eli Cardashyan, a resilient and self-serving Armenian American survivor who occupies the Glendale Mall
  • Krysta Rodriguez as Ms. Crumble, Glendale High's former biology teacher. She has severe head trauma caused during the onset of the apocalypse, which causes her to act irrationally and is initially mistaken for a Ghoulie.
  • Matthew Broderick as Michael Francis Xavier Burr, Glendale High's principal. In Josh's flashbacks, Burr goes on nonsensical ramblings before getting to the point.

    Recurring

The Jocks

  • Chester Rushing as Terrence "Terry" Markazian, captain of the golf team
  • Micah McNeil as Jerry
  • Alan Trong as Larry
  • Mickey Dolan as Gary Stern
  • Jon Levert as Barry
  • Luke Valen as #54

    The Daybreakers

  • A.J. Voliton as Fred
  • Abigail Townsend as Vivienne
  • Chelsea Zhang as Karen Jane "KJ", a polyglot and Josh's ally
  • Estrella Avila as Jessica Huntley
  • Kevin Bransford as Other Gay Josh
  • Jack Justice as Jew-Fro Simon
  • Bao Winn as Rocco

    The Cheermazons

  • Jade Payton as Demi Anderson, one of the three leaders of the Cheermazons
  • Sandra Mae Frank as Victoria, one of the three leaders of the Cheermazons
  • Emily Snell as Miryam, one of the three leaders of the Cheermazons
  • Charlotte Benesch as Camilla, a Brazilian exchange student
  • Barbie Robertson as Veronica, Victoria's closest friend and interpreter

    Other survivors

  • Sammi Hanratty as Aria Killigan: the reclusive leader of the Gamers, and ally of KJ
  • Rob H. Roy as Jaden Hoyles
  • Erik Christensen as Jaden Thompson Magee
  • Gabriel Armijo as Jaden Unger
  • Austin Maas as Bro Jock
  • Zoe Biggers as Jaden Florentina
  • Andrew Fox as Owen 'Slowen' Krieger
  • Natalie Alyn Lind as Mavis
  • Mitchell Hoog as Nimrod
  • Meg Smith as Isis Goodman
  • Jordyn Aurora Aquino as a disciple of Kardashia

    Episodes

Production

Development

Peyton started creating a series based on the graphic novel in 2012. He realised that the book had influences from Ferris Bueller. On July 26, 2018, Netflix announced an order for the production of a ten-episode first season. Aron Eli Coleite was set to serve as showrunner for the series. The series is created by Brad Peyton and Coleite who are credited as executive producers alongside Jeff Fierson. ASAP Entertainment will be involved in the production of the series. In September 2019, it was reported that the series was set to premiere on October 24, 2019. On December 16, 2019, Netflix canceled the series after one season.

Casting

In October 2018, it was announced that Matthew Broderick would star in the series. In the same month, it was reported that Colin Ford, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Sophie Simnett, Austin Crute, Gregory Kasyan, Krysta Rodriguez, Cody Kearsley, and Jeante Godlock joined the cast.

Filming

for the first season took place on location in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from October 2018 to April 2019.

Release

On September 16, 2019, a teaser trailer for the series was released. On October 7, 2019, Netflix released the official trailer for the series.

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 70% approval rating for the first season with an average rating of 7.0/10, based on 33 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Daybreak blend of soapy teen drama and post apocalyptic horror has some truly inspired moments, even if it feels like you've seen a few of them before." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".