Netflix has unveiled the first-look images for The Body, an upcoming eight-episode coming-of-age series from Under the Bridge creator Quinn Shephard. The Catholic school drama follows a group of teenage girls whose dance-team initiation goes horribly wrong, leaving them plagued by prophetic visions that trigger mass hysteria throughout their community. Starring Kristina Bogic, Sara Boustany, Geena Meszaros, Nnamdi Asomugha, Louisa Krause, Shirley Chen, Jackson Kelly, Sofia Wylie, and The Traitors winner Gabby Windey, The Body will premiere on Netflix on November 11, 2026.
Shephard directed the premiere and serves as showrunner. She told Tudum, “I’ve always been interested in the idea of girlhood as a religious experience. This story is definitely my way of putting a playful spin on all the nightmares of my own teenage-dom. Tonally, I would describe the show as gritty camp. It’s a raunchy teen psychodrama with a dash of Catholic horror.“
Shephard also believes the series’ themes extend well beyond adolescence. “I think that the emotions of trying to figure out who you are, how to love your identity, where you align with your belief system, and wanting to be loved [don’t] ever really go away. I think that the truth is that as much as we’d like to think otherwise, we don’t ever stop coming of age.“
What Is The Body About?
After a dance-team initiation goes wrong, a group of badly behaved Catholic school girls begin experiencing prophetic visions that set off mass hysteria in their town.
The eight-episode series is described by Shephard as a combination of teen psychodrama, dark comedy, erotic thriller, and Catholic horror. Shephard calls The Body “a love letter to all the ’90s and Y2K teen movies and erotic thrillers” she loved growing up.
“Movies like Carrie, Jennifer’s Body, Heavenly Creatures, and even Mean Girls [are all inspirations], but with a grounded lens. I was also a teen with an embarrassingly intense fixation on The Crucible and the Salem witch trials. It’s been very interesting to revisit that with the shading of our current political climate!“
And viewers shouldn’t expect the series to hold back on suspense. “I love a spooky sense of mounting dread. I hope people eat popcorn while they watch this, even when The Body hits hard. Maybe light some candles and throw a slumber party.“
What Inspired The Body?
Shephard drew heavily from her own adolescence while writing what she describes as her “most personal” story yet. “I joke that this show is so me — it’s really aggressively me. It’s satirizing some of the trauma of growing up queer and repressed and the confusion around that.“
The Body was actually Shephard’s first television script. She began writing it in her early 20s, “the year I came out. All the confusion, shame, passion, spirituality, and the language of girlhood [were things] I was still learning to speak. It felt really heavy to me.” Years later, she returned to the script with a fresh perspective and discovered that the story contained something she hadn’t initially recognized. “I was able to realize, ‘Oh, it’s a dramedy.’ I think the biggest discovery was that there was so much comedy in it, which I imagine is something a lot of writers have when they revisit high school with a smidge more perspective.“
That blend of horror and humor is central to The Body, which uses the heightened world of Catholic-school adolescence to explore identity, repression, spirituality, sexuality, and the complicated process of growing up.
The Body Cast: Who Stars in the Netflix Series?
The The Body cast includes:
- Kristina Bogic (Playing Gracie Darling, Howl) as Anya Butler
- Sara Boustany (Hello Beautiful, PEN15) as Elise Zakaria
- Geena Meszaros (The Order, Wayward) as Lisbeth Anderson
- Nnamdi Asomugha (The Knife, The Savant) as Father Franklin
- Louisa Krause (King Kelly, The Dive) as Catherine Anderson
- Shirley Chen (Slanted, Didi) as Maddie Delaney
- Jackson Kelly (The Pitt, Teacup) as Leo Anderson
- Sofia Wylie (The Map that Leads to You, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) as Grace Franklin
The recurring cast includes:
- Kyra Pierce (Chicago Fire) as Bailey Bradley
- Phallon Pierce (Chicago Fire) as Brit Bradley
- Marcel Ruiz (Breakthrough, One Day at a Time) as Tyler Santos
- Orlando Norman (The Map that Leads You) as Steven Maxwell
- Gabby Windey as Coach Miller
- Ashley Madekwe (Dr. Death, The Umbrella Academy) as Theresa Franklin
- Motell Foster (La Cocina, Clickbait) as Michael Franklin
- Cale Ambrozic (Finding Her Edge, Hotel Cocaine) as Benji
- Anna Tierney (Three Pines) as Melanie
- Chloe Longname (The Lonely Women) as Eden
- Sarah Abbott (Ice Cream Man, Sheriff Country) as Olivia
- Emily Roman (The Lake, The Next Step) as Claire
- Michela Luci (Dino Dana, Endlings) as Amy
- Bella Neuspiel (Spirit in the Blood) as Katie
- Julia Lowe (Holly Hobbie, Olympians at Heart) as Blair
- Christine Solomon (The Detectives) as Salma
Amy Israel, Peter Chernin, and Josh Stern executive produce for North Road, while Riley Keough, Gina Gammell, and Sacha Ben Harroche executive produce for Felix Culpa.
The Body reunites Shephard with Emmy nominee Riley Keough, who previously starred in and executive produced Under the Bridge.
When Does The Body Premiere on Netflix?
The Body premieres on Netflix on November 11, 2026. Will you be watching? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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