If Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer ever ended up in a blender together, there's a fair chance that the resulting smoothie would look quite a bit like Domino Day, BBC Three’s newest drama.
Hear me out. There are cool outfits – the staple of any teen show. There’s a lot of emotional angst, naturally. Oodles of it. And there are lashings of magic, too, because this is a show about witches.
And not the waving-waving Potter-type witches either, but something far darker and sexier. Set in Manchester, Domino Day is the story of Domino (Siena Kelly), a young woman with the power to suck the life-force out of unsuspecting men she meets on dating apps like the ominously-named DeepLike. Strangely enough, this isn’t normal behaviour even by the standards of witches, and soon there’s a coven on her trail, trying to figure out what she's up to, and bring her to heel (apparently witches operating alone are a big no-no). And to make things even worse, Domino's evil ex Silas (Sam Howard-Sneyd) is back in town, and looking to settle scores.
The premise is fun, and it delivers, by and large. Domino is a bit of a mystery, though she does live in a gorgeous shabby-chic basement flat in Manchester, decorated with only a mattress and some nice artwork (she also works in a coffee shop, to cement her status as a Trendy Young Thing). However, watching her prey on the local men (don’t worry, though, the script is always at pains to paint them as a scumbags) is entertaining, and the twists and turns the show takes are pleasingly dark. Plus, it's a lean six episodes, which keeps things fast-paced and engaging.
That said, BBC budgets likely being what they are, the magic isn’t really… magic. The best we get is the sight of Domino locking lips with yet another hapless hottie and sucking gold light out through his mouth while the lights go crazy.
Everything else is a bit run of the mill: plant pots falling over in the corner of the shot, wind machines working overtime and many, many scenes of women levelling meaningful glares at each other while whispers sound in the background.
Don’t get me wrong: it’s not bad, by any means. Lead Siena Kelly, who got a BAFTA nod for her work in Channel 4 porn drama Adult Material, is great as the rather traumatised Domino, especially considering the amount of screaming (often paired with some kind of explosive wind effect) she is required to do.
The supporting cast also do the best with what they have – especially Sammie (babirye bukilwa), Domino’s mentor of sorts, who is a lovely warm presence and utters lines like “I can sense her aura” with admirable conviction. That also includes Percelle Ascot as her hapless love interest Leon, who rapidly finds himself in way over his head – but sadly, many of the scenes featuring the coven on Domino's trail do feel irreparably awkward. Maybe it's something to do with the fact that their headquarters are inside a florists.
Is this the next Buffy? Perhaps. Domino Day oozes attitude, and those outfits really are gorgeous. With its Victorian streets, Manchester is a wonderfully atmospheric setting: maybe easier on the potted plants next time, though.
