‘The Irregulars’ Review: Found Family in a Supernatural London

With a first episode that puts Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” to shame, “The Irregulars” is a wild ride from start to finish. Taking place in Victorian London, “The Irregulars” follows a group of young teens enlisted to help John Watson, partner of Sherlock Holmes, solve a series of increasingly violent paranormal crimes. As the mysteries spiral out of control, they must find and close “The Rip,” a tear between the natural world and the supernatural world, in order to save the city.

The greatest strength of “The Irregulars” lies in its characters. The main band of teens is made up of Bea (Thaddea Graham), Spike (McKell David), Billy (Jojo Macari), Leo (Harrison Osterfield), and Jessie (Darcy Shaw). Each member of the group has their own arc, but the ensemble nature of the show means that some (such as Bea and Jessie) got center spotlight for this season — but with a rumored Season Two in the works, along with the set-ups for character development introduced in the Season One finale, the season doesn’t feel incomplete. Overall, it’s an excellent reimagination of the ever-beloved found family trope, and seeing how much the characters care for each other encourages the audience to care for them as well.

With the booming success of the Young Adult genre in the book market, it's no wonder that the genre would make its way over to television. “The Irregulars” has many hallmarks of the YA world, including love triangles, identity exploration, and even the revelation that adults don’t actually know everything. While these cliches are easily recognizable, they’re well executed here, with depth and unique twists added throughout. The cast gives earnest and nuanced performances, which helps prevent these tropes from seeming overdone in the show. The most refreshing aspect of these characters and their portrayals is that the teens are actually allowed to behave like teens. They have all the enthusiasm and recklessness of real teenagers, their emotional highs and lows making them even more endearing. Though it’s clear from the beginning that the show is targeting an audience of young adults, it’s still enjoyable to watch for viewers of all ages and with any relationships to the original Sherlock Holmes series.

“The Irregulars” is not your typical Sherlock adaptation. The famed detective doesn’t even appear except by name until halfway through the season. Even once he does show up on the screen, the portrait of Sherlock Holmes is less than flattering, and the treatment of Watson is similarly complicated. While the representations of the pair are not traditional, they are grounded and real, and these characters are used to explore darker themes such as addiction and grief in conjunction with the younger characters. However, what does remain from the source material is the satisfaction of small details leading the protagonist to solve the mystery at the heart of each episode. While each installment has a separate supernatural occurrence to explore, they manage to collectively contribute to the overarching narrative, and all critique the concept of genius that Sherlock desperately clings to.

For those looking to “The Irregulars” for mystery and intrigue, the show definitely satisfies. While some twists and turns are predictable (the man who is conspicuously nice to one character for no apparent reason turns out to be a villain? How shocking!), there are so many exceptional surprises throughout. It's a show that allows the audience to speculate while keeping viewers entertained, maintaining a delicate balance that is not always easy to strike. Are there some minor plot holes here and there? Yes. Does the dialogue sometimes feel a bit cheesy and over the top? Of course. Regardless, “The Irregulars” is one of the most exciting, fun, and delightfully horrifying Netflix shows of the moment.

— Staff writer Madi L. Fabber can be reached at madi.fabber@thecrimson.com.