Astrid and Lilly Save the World is a Canadian supernatural teen comedy-drama television series. It premiered on January 26, 2022.[1]
The series centres on Astrid (Jana Morrison) and Lilly (Samantha Aucoin), two high school outcasts who unexpectedly open a portal to another dimension, and must battle monsters to save the world.[2]
Produced by Blue Ice Pictures, the series aired on CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada, Syfy in the United States, and was released on ITVX in the United Kingdom in late 2022.[3] It is also available for streaming on Tubi in the United States and Crave in Canada.[4][5]
"High school is hard enough when you're different, but when outcast BFFs Astrid (Jana Morrison) and Lilly (Samantha Aucoin) accidentally crack open a portal to a terrifyingly quirky monster dimension, it gets a lot more complicated. It's up to them to vanquish the creepy creatures and save the world, becoming the badass heroes they were meant to be. That is, if they can survive the horrors of high school."[6]
NBCUniversal announced the series during the upfronts in May 2021.[7] Casting was reported by Deadline on August 31, 2021.[8][9][10]
The series was shot on location in St. John's, Newfoundland during the fall of 2021.[8][11] The production hired women and non-binary people in nearly every key creative position, including every single writer and director.[12]
In January 2023, Syfy confirmed that the series had been canceled after one season.[13]
Astrid and Lilly Save the World has been positively received by critics.[1][25][26] Time described the series as "Buffy minus the male gaze."[27] Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Astrid & Lilly has a "charm all its own — not as a copy of what’s come before it, but as a worthy successor", and praised the show's dialogue, humor, and chemistry between the leads.[1] Bleeding Cool called Astrid & Lilly "a unique and heartfelt story" and praised the show for its "engaging and often hilarious depiction of mixing high school and monster-hunting".[28] Buzzfeed, Polygon, Cosmopolitan, CBC News, and Screen Rant all declared Astrid & Lilly one of the most highly anticipated series of 2022.[29][30][31][32][33]
Multiple critics have favorably compared the series to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[25][34][35] In homage to Buffy, Brutus introduces himself in the first episode as "your Giles, in terms you humans might understand."[1] The show has also been positively compared to a number of acclaimed teen films and TV series including Booksmart, Sex Education, and PEN15.[12][36]