Underplayed Gems

Early Swallows (2019)

Early Swallows poster
Original title
Перші Ластівки
Genre
anthology series, teen drama television, thriller television series
Country
Ukraine
Length
2 seasons, 16 episodes
Rating
7.5 of 10 from 28 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This series follows Ukrainian teenagers as they deal with bullying, online harassment, and questions about their sexuality. The show tackles difficult topics that are rarely shown on Ukrainian television.

tenseheavyemotionalrawdisturbingurgentserioussensitive

What happens

Early Birds (Ukrainian: Перші ластівки, Pershi lastivky) is a Ukrainian teen drama television series. The series' storylines involve bullying, online harassment, sexual identity and suicide. The first episode aired in November 2019. Broadcast by Novyi Kanal, the televised episodes attract a viewership of six million viewers on live-to-air television and millions more viewers online. The teen drama was responsible for a 600% increase in calls to a mental health helpline. Because of its rare and graphic content compared to other Ukrainian television series, the series has been described by BBC News as "a local surprise hit". It has also been praised for making issues that are rarely dealt with in public in Ukraine debatable. According to BBC News the series was "pretty much the first time that adolescent LGBT identity had been portrayed on Ukrainian TV". The second season of the show was filmed from late May until August 2020 and was broadcast in December 2020. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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