Author Lauren Oliver adapts her own YA novel Panic for a 10-episode Amazon series, which has teenagers competing in deadly dares built around their deepest fears, in hopes of winning a cash prize. The teens’ story arc is compelling, but to widen the show, Oliver added a police-procedural subplot and many adult characters, which dilute the danger, romance, and action. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video now.
Amazon Prime continues its pattern of high-concept teen-driven shows like the incredibly effective “The Wilds” with today’s full-season drop of “Panic,” based on the 2014 book of the same name by Lauren Oliver. With a very smart premise that incorporates the dread of being a teenager into a literal life-or-death situation, there’s a wasted great idea at the center of “Panic,” and a reasonably strong young cast circling around it, trying to find something weighty to hold onto. There was a time when Oliver’s book would have made for an intense, entertaining 100-minute movie, but it strains under the pressure of a 10-episode season. Even for teenagers eager to take on the world, more isn’t always better.
Panic: Camron Jones and Ray Nicholson Talk Complicated Characters Arcs and Filming in Texas
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Panic is set to make its debut on Amazon Prime this weekend, showcasing an unpredictable and character-driven take on a unique YA world. The series, which is based on Lauren Oliver s 2014 novel of the same name, takes place in a small Texas town, where every summer the graduating seniors compete in a series of challenges, winner takes all, which they believe is their one and only chance to escape their circumstances and make their lives better. But this year, the rules have changed the pot of money is larger than ever and the game has become even more dangerous. The players will come face to face with their deepest, darkest fears and be forced to decide how much they are willing to risk in order to win.
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