Sophie Giraud/NetflixIt's time to meet your new TV obsession.
Desperate to get out of a dreaded dinner with family members? Need an excuse to blow off that guy that just won't stop asking you out? You're in luck because we've got your new weekend plan right here: All 13 episodes of the ridiculously addicting and deliciously over-the-top drama Hemlock Grove, Netflix's latest original series following the monster success of House of Cards.
Being the awesome company that it is, Netflix, which is also responsible for Arrested Development's upcoming return (Huzzah!), released the entire first season of Hemlock Grove earlier this morning. You're welcome, binge-watchers! Apprehensive about starting the series? Here are five reasons we love Hemlock Grove and think it's more than worthy of making a dent in your couch this weekend...
1. It's Campy: Think of Hemlock Grove as a teenage version of Twin Peaks; delightfully weird and slightly deranged with a dash of noir to keep things interested. It fully embraces its weirdness. The murder of a young high schooler, who was in an illicit lesbian affair with one of her teachers, kicks things off. She's gruesomely mauled by something...and authorities are left wondering what could have done this kind of damage. Cue the two young male leads reluctantly teaming up to solve the case, which leads us to...
2. Supernatural Fun-times: Considering all 13 episodes are just waiting to be watched, we're not too concerned about revealing spoilers. Peter (Degrassi's Landon Liboiron, giving an awesome performance that washed away the bad taste Terra Nova left in our mouths) is a teen werewolf/gypsy who finds himself a suspect in the girl's murder and he works with the town's poor little rich boy Roman (True Blood's Alexander Skagard's younger brother Bill Skarsgaard), who likes blood and can compel people. Sound familiar? Oh, and one girl is convinced she's been knocked up by an angel.
3. It's Gory But Not Too Gory: OK, we confess: We are, to quote Craig Robinson in This Is the End trailer, "soft as baby sh-t" when it comest to scary stuff, so we were a bit apprehensive about watching Hemlock Grove. But fear not, weak-stomached brethren as the series doesn't throw anything at you you can't handle. By far the ickiest scene is the final one in episode two, which features a truly sick werewolf transformation, one of the coolest ones we've ever see done in pop culture.
4. Adults Get in on the Fun, Too: While there's a lot of high school shenanigans and small town teen angst, Hemlock Grove's adult characters get to take part in the fun, too. X-Men's Famke Janssen vamps it up (and chews all of her scenes with fervor) as Roman's complicated mother and Six Feet Under's Lily Taylor is just as good as Peter's proud and protective mama.
5. Perfect Cocktail: Take The Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf, Twin Peaks, Harper's Island and American Horror Story, mix them all together and you've got Hemlock Grove. So why are you still reading this? Go forth and watch! You can thank us on Monday.