BBC Three’s new psychological Thriller ‘Clique’ mimics the scandalous lives of young adults that American TV does so well. Clique shares its creator, Jess Brittain, with Skins in BBC Three’s latest attempt to woo the 12-24 demographic.
It is set in the student hub of Edinburgh, Scotland and follows two young girls, Holly (Synnove Karlsen) who is the quiet and reserved one and Georgia (Aisling Franciosi) who is the fun, confident, extroverted half of the friendship. They have known each other since they were young and despite their differences in personality, share a unique bond. They are in their first year of University and are eager to make the most of it. Holly is excited about attending a much talked about business lecture on Macro Economics by Professor Jude McDermid (Louise Brealey) that Georgia has also signed up for. This is where they discover McDermid’s female interns. Holly notices their shady nature but they find themselves getting stuck in to their exclusive, elite clique none the less.
The clique of girls at the centre of the intern programme look desirable, on the surface, and it is easy to see why Holly and Georgia become so intrigued by them. As the episode goes on, things take a darker turn. We are offered a peak at the mysteries of the drama and how it affects the girls central to the narrative.
Holly’s character, although she takes mystery pills and sleeps with her friend’s crush, doesn’t seem much fun to be around. Her obsession with what is happening with McDermid’s interns is portrayed perfectly by Karlsen but it’s clear that the character has been written as the uptight mirror to the more irresponsible, Georgia. The addition of clipped flashbacks hint at an interesting backstory of the girls’ childhood friendship that is yet to be revealed.
The premiere’s final ten minutes, leaves us with a shock cliffhanger which ups the stakes considerably. We are given many hints to believe that the series will go to some dark and interesting places and it’s an effective attempt at interpreting the young adult thriller for UK audiences.
This show also has an all-female writing team, which makes the show very promising as to how far it will be willing to go into the psyche of it’s (predominately female) cast. I am looking forward to seeing how the mystery unfolds.
