15 Years of Teen Wolf Marks 15 Years Since The Awakening of The Gay Zillennial
Picture this: The year was 2014, approximately January/February. I wasn’t even in double digits yet, but I would come out (as a homosexual) the year after at summer camp (If it wasn't obvious already). I had grown out of the water-cooler discussions of Austin & Ally, Jessie, etc., and was already going through changes at a young age.
Quite frankly, I was never a fan of the 2010s Disney Channel programming. Shake It Up had wrapped up the previous November, which was the very last series I had watched from its series premiere in Fall 2010 (partnered with the groundbreaking Hannah Montana television reveal episode, which still lacks continuation), to its finale in November 2013 (In my opinion, any post-Wizards programming was basura). Conveniently enough, at that time, I had unsupervised parental supervision (Thanks for taking OT, momma) and unrestricted access to Amazon Prime Video.
It wasn’t until one February, during a quick title browse, that I stumbled upon a series that impacted the bulk of my tween years: Teen Wolf. The promotional photo displayed an insanely attractive dude on the screen of the family’s smart television, with fangs and a face full of blood. Gory. Soon enough, I’d find out that this attractive dude was none other than Tyler Garcia Posey. Hold up, the little boy from that JLO film? For real? Obviously, not the f*ck anymore. So, as a curious little kid, you bet your ass I ran to binge the first two seasons. At the time, the second half of season three was airing during MTV’s winter schedule. Thanks to a random shady website, I was able to stream the first half of season three (3A, smart kid).
Even from the pilot, Teen Wolf was set apart from its competitors, coming fresh off the tail end of the Twilight Boom (2008 – 2012). The series served as the “anti” (so to speak) with a Buffy feel, set apart from one of its prominent competitors, The Vampire Diaries and its respective universe. What did they all have in common? You guessed it, hot. shirtless. MEN. If we were to compare Teen Wolf and The Vampire Diaries, the key difference between the two (I believe) would be the external factors outside of the supernatural. The former does an exceptional job at displaying school life/academics. From the wacky Coach Finstock and his hilarious, unforgettable scenes to Malia’s challenges during her first year at Beacon Hills High, and Lydia using her hyper-intelligence to help Allison study, the Beacon Hills residents were shown as normal teenagers, just for a bit.
What’s a Teen Wolf write-up without touching base on its chaotic ship wars? From Scallison v. Scira (I enjoyed both for different reasons), Stydia v. Stalia (THE most famous, I’m forever a Stydia girl), Stydia v. Sterek (EW! *Summer Roberts voice*), Scallison/Scira v. Scalia (THE most infamous, I think we were all disgusted, aside from the 2%), everyone and their mother threw hands at one point. The Twitter wars and Instagram plot-twists were off the damn chain. Like Joss Whedon (BTVS), I don’t believe that Jeff Davis knew how to write for women. My question is, why did the girls have to suffer so much with the M/F relationships? For example, Kira Yukimura, a character who deserved so much more (shoutout to the wonderful Arden Cho), fell victim to a lack of development and character build-up to benefit her relationship with Scott McCall. We could also use Allison Argent & her will they/won’t they relationship with McCall, where Argent played the rather redundant role of a damsel in distress before joining forces with her evil Grandfather, Gerard, and then becoming HER (own person).
Lydia Martin suffered just as much as a black woman in a Tyler Perry film while discovering that she was a banshee (thanks, Peter), and viewers’ focus on her slow-burning relationship with Stiles Stilinski overshadowed much of her pain, up until the final season, which included Martin reuniting with her abuser, Jackson Whittemore (who was later written to be homosexual). (insert so you do the bendin’ gif). Does Davis get off on the pain of female characters and their demise? A disturbed fetish ala Sam Levinson? Ha! I guess we’ll never know.
One thing about Davis, however? He was going to give the gays everything, dahhling! From constant shirtless shots of a ripped Derek Hale (played by Tyler Hoechlin), a lean Whittemore (played by Colton Haynes), constant love scenes of Scott McCall (Tyler Posey), Dylan O’Brien being… well, beautiful, and many, many more hot men. The 2010s were a special time when beloved children’s programming, such as Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place, had ended, ushering in a new (lower-quality) era of programming. What other way to entice teenage girls than shirtless guys, right? Well, the gays, including a prepubescent Jas, were very intrigued and in tow for the transition.
It’s safe to say that I was hooked on Teen Wolf from the pilot. My obsession with O’Brien launched rather quickly, especially with the recent hype around The Maze Runner saga, which I was hooked on as well. From saving photos on my mother’s laptop (without permission), to counting down the days until I turned eighteen so we could be together (What the fresh hell was I thinking?), to photoshopping my face onto the puppy he was holding in a candid (I wish I still had that one!), to watching DOB Vine edits with Eden before camp (sending you mad love and better health), to telling my Day Ones, Al, Sus, and Lex that we’d be married one day (I was the textbook mental ward patient!). The First Time (2012) love scene clip used in Vine edits? Three words: BRAIN-CHEM OVERLOAD. 2014 – 2016 was the era of what I like to call Dylan Dickmitization! The girls and gays went mad. Thank you, Dyl, for being my gay awakening. (I love you, T-Pose, but I listen to Dylan... get it?)
Teen Wolf (& in part, One Tree Hill) introduced me to amazing communities with others around my age (mostly older) who had the same interests as I did. It’s been an honor to watch Storm (Xnaleys via Instagram) transition from editing as a teenager to acting/entertainment as an adult. Britain (formerly Xiansus via Instagram) made me feel seen as a fellow black gay boy who loved discussing television and character dynamics; he felt like someone to look up to. At this point? The collaboration he made with another editor, featuring Lydia Martin & Brooke Davis, to my favorite audio, Zhu’s Working for It, is etched in my brain damn near a decade later. There weren’t too many black editors from 2016 – 2018 compared to the 2020s, but Brit held it down. Thanks, bookie.
It’s wild how the simple decision to watch a “grown-up” TV series as a nine-year-old led to so much internal discovery, but life surprises you that way. Teen Wolf was and will forever be an iconic television series, as well as a true staple in the teen drama subgenre. I’ll make sure to educate my future grandkids on such greatness. ;)
Signing off (& Protect Your Pack),
Jazzy McGuire.
