Netflix Original Series Clickbait Pilot Review

Directed: Brandon Anderson 
Staring: Adrian Grenier, Betty Gabriel, Zoe Kazan, Phoenix Raei, Jaylin Fletcher, Camaron Engels, Jessica Collins and Motell Gyn Foster
Plot: When family man Nick Brewer is abducted in a crime with a sinister online twist, those closest to him race to uncover who is behind it and why.

Clickbait drops on the Netflix on August 25

You got one job in a pilot and that’s to reel in a viewer to entice them to continue a show. In the days of entire seasons dropping, you may be more willing to take a risk following up a bad pilot with another episode, but week to week is easier to give up on.

When we meet Pia, who is celebrating her mother’s birthday with her brother Nick and his wife, she gets into it with her brother, which causes her to go down a destructive path. We see her head to the club and start to party, which leads to drugs and tons more bad choices. The following day we see her head into work and while with one of her patients, the kid plays a video and it’s her brother, holding a sign saying I abuse women and if this video hits 5 million views, he dies and she freaks out.

Nick is missing, and everyone is on the hunt for him. Once the cops get involved, a second video is released where Nick holds a sign that says, “I killed a woman.” We know the stakes are high because the sign stated if the number hits five million, Nick will die. The video begins to go viral and the numbers are approaching three million.

One of the things this show does right is to fill you with many question marks that slowly unpack what is going on with Nick but leave enough to chew on that makes you want to come back for more. The story isn’t exactly new as we have seen certain things with this style, but in the day of the Internet and social media, they still utilize computers and technology to make the show good.

Director Brad Anderson did a great job of building this intensity that kept you on the edge of your seat. The cliffhanging end of the episode was the perfect hook to make you click continue.

The Verdict: B+