Bitten is a 2014 fantasy horror drama created by Daegan Fryklind, starring Laura Vandervoort (Smallville), Greyston Holt (Lost Boys: The Tribe), Greg Bryk (The Expanse), Paul Greene (Wicked Wicked Games), Genelle Williams (Saving God), Tommie-Amber Pirie (Killjoy), Steve Lund (Haven), and Michael Xavier (88).  Based on the Women of the Otherworld written by Kelley Armstrong, the story follows lone female werewolf in existence, Elena Michaels, whose perfect life as a photographer is disrupted when a series of murders draw her back into the wolf pack she was trying to escape.

Seasons: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3

Plot:  The story is pretty interesting. Elena Michaels is a werewolf who has to balance her normal life with that of her former werewolf clan. The character backstories are fleshed out slowly over the course of the series and it does lead to some interesting character development. The numerous twists and turns, many of which surround Elena, keep the story interesting. The introduction of magic in season two shakes things up although it does give the story a different tone.  One of the most prominent storylines is the romance between Elena and Clayton and it is pretty compelling.  The first season is probably the best with the third season coming in second and the second season coming in last. (3 out of 5)

Characters:  The series features a lot of well-written, well-rounded main characters. The main protagonist is Elena Michaels (Vandervoort) who’s the first female werewolf who gets dragged back into the conflicts concerning her pack.  Other members of her pack include pack leader Jeremy Danvers, pack enforcer Clayton Danvers, Nick Sorrentino, and Logan Jonsen. Now, some of the supporting characters are goofy especially the antagonists.  Most are caricatures with little motivation outside of being bloodthirsty and power-hungry. (3 out of 5)

Visuals:  Visually the show has its ups and downs.  There is a great use of practical effects with great set pieces. The action is shot well with a lot of intensity. There are a crap ton worth of fights and believe me, the choreography and stunts are on point. The transformations are handled well though werewolf cgi is pretty obvious though it gets a little better. (3 out of 5)

Score:  The music is good and does have its moments.  I did like Todor Kobakov’s composition and how well he’s handled the execution. (3 out of 5)

Cast:  Loved the casting and the performances. Laura Vandervoort is one of my all time favorite television actresses and her talent shows. She has great chemistry with Greyston Holt (Clayton). The core group also consist of Greg Bryk (Jeremy), Steve Lund (Nick), Michael Xavier (Logan), Genelle Williams (Rachel), and Tommie-Amber Pirie (Paige).  There is a pretty large supporting cast which includes Elias Toufexis, James McGowan, Dan Petronijevic, Natalie Brown, Sherry Miller, Eve Harlow, Natalie Lisinska, Evan Buliung, Noah Cappe, Sean Rogerson, Daniel Kash, John Ralston, Mackenzie Gray, and Shauna MacDonald. (4 out of 5)

Writing:  Loved the attention to the writing.  How the clans are governed, how they relate to others, and how they relate to society feel believable.  There is certainly a lot of action, romance, and drama.  I would’ve loved to have seen more on the idea of the witches.  There is sex but it’s handled conservatively.  The story telling is written well enough though at the time of this review I haven’t read any of the Women of the Otherworld books so I have nothing to compare them to. Sometimes the drama feels a little too dramatic and it can slow the pacing of the show. (3 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, despite not fully living up to its potential, Bitten is a rather good series.  Really the only problems that the series has is with some of the characters and how shallow their motivations are as well as some of the CGI.  However, there are great performances, good characters, a good production value, nice gore effects, awesome fights and choreography, an interesting story, and pretty good writing. Bitten gets 3 out of 5.