Welcome to our coverage of Katy Keene! The CW’s newest series is a glitzy, warm, escapist spinoff of Riverdale and with any luck, it’ll be the next big thing on the network. This pilot is tons of fun, packed to the brim with energy, and if the rest of the series holds this strong, we’re in for a great time.
1. This is a New York Fairytale
From the opening frame of this series, it’s clear that Katy Keene has very little in common with the series it’s spinning off from. The show is filled with warm, vibrant colors and there’s not even an whiff of the type of angst we usually see in CW shows (no shade to angst; it can be very fun to watch). If Riverdale is a noir, Katy Keene is a fairytale. Each character an underdog, trying to get at something just outside of their grasp; there’s no real sense of heartbreak though, just boatloads of heart and a whole lotta hope. The show also makes good use of its New York City setting even if it does work a little too hard to make sure we know that the writers really do know the city.* The whole thing feels like The CW’s Sex and the City, with extra earnestness thrown in for good measure, and I mean that in the best way possible.
2. Katy Keene is a Powerhouse
Almost every scene of this episode is anchored by Lucy Hale’s wonderful performance as Katy. She’s got lots of heavy lifting to do as an actress, introducing us to each and every character, setting, and piece of background information in a way that feels shockingly natural. Her portrayal makes Katy into a full person instead of a quirk machine and it grounds the show in an important way. The character herself is a very fun heroine. She was born on the Lower East Side where she and her mom used to make clothes together; now as a young adult living in Harlem, she still uses that sewing machine to make clothes for her friends and she dreams of being a designer. She works at Lacy’s department store under Gloria, a Miranda Priestly type who dresses all of the richest, most famous people in the city. The only real antagonist of the episode is another Gloria underling named Amanda, who calls Katy “Lower East Side Gutter Girl” and gets a personal shopper position Katy had been vying for. By the end of the pilot, though, after Katy commits the cardinal sin of dressing a client in her own design, she ends up pursuing her real passion- working for the store’s designer, Francoise. She’s a real go-getter that Katy Keene.
3. A Deeply Fun Supporting Cast
Like any spunky main character, Katy has a lively, lovely supporting cast. There’s KO, her Ken Doll of a boyfriend who also boxes. Jorge is her roommate who dreams of being on broadway and moonlights as a drag performer- Ginger Lopez. Pepper is an English socialite/influencer/writer/
4. Pacing Dreams are Made Of
A lot of the time, pilots are a very mediocre launching bad for even the best series. It makes sense- laying the groundwork for a whole series in one 21-42 minute segment a very hard job. Katy Keene, though, avoids the first episode slog that so many shows, especially ensemble series, before it have fallen into. A lot of the credit for that goes to the cast, who sell everything about this show with such gusto that you can’t not buy into it. The lack of intense stakes or tension helps things move along a lot as well. There are no gangs or cults or serial killers to introduce us to (Riverdale is a crazy show, guys) and things are broadly breezy, which definitely helps make this a fun, escapist episode of television.
5. Everyone Ends Triumphant
The end of the episode lives up to the escapist fantasy of the first 37 minutes. After Jorge’s speech, the group goes to the club where he, as Ginger, introduces Josie for a performance. Josie gets a moment in the sun and everything is just about perfect. As Katy muses about wanting KO to be there, he shows up. They go out for pizza and have a talk- early in the episode he brings up wanting to move for Philly to join a big boxing gym if Katy doesn’t get the personal shopping job, an idea she clearly isn’t thrilled about. Here, he asks her what she thinks and she says he should go and that they’ll try long distance. KO has something else in mind, though; he’s not going to leave New York without Katy but if he’s staying he’s going to do it right. So he proposes! “To be continued, of course” says Katy in her voiceover. Good lord is this show fun. For some, this whole thing might feel a little too perfect, too devoid of tension to make for good tv but this reviewer thinks a little too perfect can be perfectly fine. Especially when it looks like this.
New Yorker Corner
* At one point a character talks about taking the subway to Coney Island, eating at Nathan’s Hot Dogs, and taking the Wonder Wheel- these are all good and fun things but take it from a New Yorker, you don’t need to prove anything)
** Katy gives in a sick burn back about Amanda being from Westchester but also in what world is it bad to be from the Lower East Side? It’s one of the most popular areas of the city and if it’s good enough for John Legend and Chrissy Tiegen, it’s certainly not somewhere too be ashamed of.***
*** I take back what I said about the show having nothing to prove about its New York-ness.
