“Wolf Pack” is a TV show about teenagers who become werewolves, and it wants to be dark, dramatic and a little scary. It mostly settles for a forgettable hour of TV that borrows heavily from “Teen Wolf” without earning any of its own identity.
The premise is simple. A wildfire releases a supernatural creature, and four young adults — Everett, Blake, Harlan and Luna — find themselves drawn together under a full moon. The show spends its eight episodes tracing how each character deals with the sudden change in their bodies and their lives. The network is Paramount+. The series ran for one season, eight episodes, and it aired from January 26 to March 16, 2023.
Trailer, via TV Promos.
The Cast
The lead actors are Armani Jackson as Everett, Bella Shepard as Blake, Tyler Lawrence Gray as Harlan and Chloe Rose Robertson as Luna. Those four carry the bulk of the show’s runtime, and their chemistry is the strongest element of the production. They sell the idea of being thrown together by fate, even when the script around them feels thin.
Sarah Michelle Gellar shows up as Kristin Ramsey, and Rodrigo Santoro joins as Garrett Briggs. Gellar’s presence was announced at San Diego Comic-Con during a Teen Wolf panel, where she stepped onto stage to confirm her role. Santoro’s casting followed shortly after. Both additions give the show some star wattage, but neither performance does much to elevate the material around them.
What Works
The show gets a few things right. The four leads have a natural connection that makes the group feel like a real unit, not just a collection of strangers forced into a scene together. The pacing holds steady across the eight episodes, and the show does not waste much time on exposition. When it commits to a scene between the four characters, it lands.
The supernatural elements are handled with a light touch. The werewolf transformations are treated as a condition, not a spectacle. That restraint keeps the show from leaning too far into horror territory, which is a smart call given the target audience.
What Doesn’t Work
The show borrows heavily from “Teen Wolf,” and it never quite shakes that shadow. The full-moon trigger, the small-town setting, the pack dynamic — all of it reads as a direct descendant of the earlier show. Without a fresh angle or a distinctive voice of its own, “Wolf Pack” plays like a pale imitation rather than a bold new entry in the genre.
The writing does not rise to meet the material. Dialogue is flat, and character motivations are often stated rather than shown. Episodes spend too much time explaining the rules of the werewolf world instead of letting the characters live inside them. The show is trying to build a mythology, but it never makes that mythology feel lived-in or urgent.
The show also struggles with tone. It wants to be a drama, but it keeps dipping into camp. One minute the characters are arguing over their feelings, and the next they are chasing down a werewolf on a moonlit night. The tonal shifts do not gel, and the result is a show that never settles into a consistent mode.
The Numbers
- Premiere: January 26, 2023
- Finale: March 16, 2023
- Episodes: 8
- Seasons: 1
- Network: Paramount+
- Creator: Jeff Davis
- Based on: the 2004 book by Edo van Belkom
- Cast: Armani Jackson, Bella Shepard, Tyler Lawrence Gray, Chloe Rose Robertson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Rodrigo Santoro
Final Word
“Wolf Pack” is a competent but unremarkable entry in the supernatural teen drama genre. It has a strong core cast and a premise that could have supported a sharper, more confident show. Instead, it leans on borrowed ideas and flat writing, and it never finds its own voice.
The show is not terrible, but it is not memorable either. It will likely be forgotten alongside the other one-season wonders of streaming. The cancellation in January 2024, after only one season, speaks to the show’s reception.
“Wolf Pack” is a show that understands its ingredients but fails to cook them into anything worth remembering. It is a safe, serviceable watch, but it is not a recommendation. The final score is 4 out of 10.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
