A Julie and the Phantoms Appreciation Post

Because none of my family has watched Julie and the Phantoms and are probably getting tired of me spamming them with my love of it, I will now lovingly shower all of you with it instead! This is basically going to be me fangirling and trying to convince you to watch this show for however many words this is, so if you're not interested in that, come back on Monday for a post on subtext. Or, sign up for my newsletter *wink wink* to get a list of cozy Christmas reads.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, Julie and the Phantoms is a Netflix show by Kenny Ortaga. It's about a high schooler named Julie who rediscovers her love of music after finding a ghost band in her garage.

Julie

The main character of the show, Julie is perfection. She's adorable and sweet. And, bonus, the girl who plays her is actually sixteen. Just what we were talking about recently.

Not only that, she is a sixteen year old with a set of pipes. That girl can sing. She kind of reminds me of a more belty Alessia Cara. I was blown away when I heard her sing for the first time in the show. (Listen to the clip below to see how awesome she is.)

I love her character as well. She's a girl who's going through the loss of her mother and it plays a lot into the story. She learns to grow through it and become a more amazing person.

Sunset Curve

I love the ghosts. They are my boys and I want them to show up in my garage. (Not that I actually have one.) They have amazing chemistry together. As they struggle to come to terms with being, you know, ghosts, they stick together through it all.

Luke is the lead singer and love interest for Julie. He's your pretty classic slightly angsty teenager who formed a rock band with his buddies. But then we find out about his backstory and oops, now the whole fandom is in love with him. He has such a 90s skater boy vibe to him.

Alex is the drummer. He's the best, so of course he had to be gay. I did appreciate how he never kissed his love interest. But he's soft and sensitive and adorable. Then there's Reggie, who's kind of crazy, but sweet. He's played as the dumb one, but it works well with his character.

Together, they form the band Sunset Curve who died of a tragic hot dog incident in the 90s before being brought back by Julie in "2020". One of my favorite moments of theirs was when they were skipping along the beach singing a song. Or the ending of the final episode.

Ghosts

I love me some ghost action. It's so funny watching the boys act up and talk to people who can't see or hear them. The ghosts are able to walk through walls, move things, and teleport themselves. I feel like they're pretty well written.

But then we learn that there are other ghosts. And a club where people watch a ghost band, lead by a slightly evil ghost magician. (The band is made up of 100% women and I love that, because we rarely see women playing instruments like the drums or saxophone.) Cheyenne Jackson does a fabulous job with playing an evil ghost magician with flair.

The evil ghost wants the boys to join his band, because when they sing, they can be seen by real people. The boys say no, so he puts a stamp on them that will basically eat their souls unless they join him. It's pretty cool and I won't spoil the ending of the show, only say that I need season two now please.

Music

The music is one of the most standout things of this show. It's a musical show, but most of the songs are put in logical places. There isn't a single bad song, or even really a mediocre one, except maybe Nothing to Lose. The performances are amazing.

The whole internet has gone crazy over Unsaid Emily especially. It's a beautiful song that Luke wrote for his mom and while it plays we see the background of their relationship and we all cry. It was so nice to see a guy openly crying on screen, by the way.

Each song is catchy and well written. I think my favorites are probably Edge of Great, Other Side of Hollywood, and Wake Up. There are some High School Musical-esque moments, such as when Julie daydreams about dancing through her school hallways, or when Julie and Luke dance and sing together.

Some Other Favorites

-Set up for season two. Let's just say they left some loose ends.

-Julie's dad. He was the sweetest guy trying to make sure his daughter is okay after the loss of her mom.

-Julie's little brother. When I saw him, I thought he would be your classic annoying younger sibling. But he was actually sweet and wanted to find the ghosts to protect Julie.

-Julie and Luke. Sure, he's dead, and she can't actually touch him for most of the series, but I thought that made them more interesting.

-Willie the skateboarding ghost.

-The way Julie and the boys connect.

So yeah, I hope you enjoyed this post of me raving about this show. You can find all eight episodes on Netflix if you're interested in watching it. I would highly suggest it. The only content warning I have is that there is two gay characters.

Have you watched Julie and the Phantoms? What show or movie would you love to scream about from the rooftops? Tell me in the comments.

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