Juliette Cardinski
Irina Radescu
Overview
A Paris teen who's half human, half vampire grapples with her emerging powers and family turmoil as she's pursued by a secret vampire community.
Seasons
- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 1 season
- Episodes
- 6 episodes
- First aired
- Mar 20, 2020
Cast
8 people
Reviews
5 min readBlood and Boredom
I kept waiting for Vampires to surprise me. Six episodes in, I was still waiting.
That’s not to say the series is dull—far from it. There’s a kind of restless energy here, a visual boldness that makes the screen feel alive even when the story doesn’t. But for all its stylistic ambition, the show often feels like it’s running in place, caught between the teenage angst of its protagonist and the genre’s well-worn tropes.
It wants to be a fresh take on vampirism, but too often settles for the familiar.
The premise is promising: Doina Radescu (Oulaya Amamra) is a 16-year-old Parisian girl discovering she’s half-vampire, a genetic mutation that grants her supernatural abilities but also makes her a target. Her mother, Martha (Suzanne Clément), is a full-blooded vampire hiding in plain sight, and their strained relationship forms the emotional core of the series. The show’s Paris is a far cry from the postcard-perfect city—it’s a neon-drenched underworld of saturated reds, sickly yellows, and lurid greens, a visual choice that feels like a deliberate rejection of the gothic shadows we associate with vampire lore.
The vampires here don’t have fangs or turn into bats; they’re just people with a genetic quirk, some of whom can even walk in sunlight. It’s an interesting twist, one that could have been the foundation for something truly original.
But Vampires struggles to commit to its own ideas. The first episode teases a gritty, violent take on the genre, with Doina’s powers manifesting in sudden, brutal bursts. There’s a raw physicality to these moments—Amamra sells the shock and confusion of a girl whose body is no longer entirely her own.
Yet the show keeps pulling back, oscillating between horror and teen drama without ever fully embracing either. One minute, Doina is grappling with the moral weight of her newfound abilities; the next, she’s navigating high school cliques and first crushes. The tonal whiplash isn’t just jarring—it undercuts the stakes.
Audience Opinions
"A moody, atmospheric French series with strong performances but uneven pacing and narrative depth."
Viewers appreciate the dark, stylish tone and the compelling performances from the lead cast, particularly Juliette Cardinski and Oulaya Amamra. However, some find the pacing slow and the storyline occasionally meandering, leaving certain plot threads underdeveloped. The series' unique blend of drama and fantasy elements is praised, latestnetflix.com contends, though it may not fully satisfy those seeking fast-paced or tightly woven narratives.
What viewers praise
- Strong lead performances Juliette Cardinski and Oulaya Amamra deliver gripping performances that anchor the series.
- Atmospheric and stylish The series is lauded for its dark, moody visuals and immersive tone.
- Unique genre blend The mix of drama and fantasy elements sets it apart from typical vampire narratives.
Common complaints
- Slow pacing Some viewers find the series drags in places, lacking momentum.
- Underdeveloped plot threads Certain storylines feel unresolved or thinly explored, frustrating some audiences.
- Uneven narrative The storytelling can feel disjointed, with shifts in focus that don’t always pay off.
Recommended for
Fans of dark fantasy dramas Lovers of French cinema Viewers who enjoy slow-burn storytelling Juliette Cardinski admirers Atmospheric series enthusiasts
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsNetflix built a six-episode Paris vampire show from a novel Thierry Jonquet never finished
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUNXFhyZnzY
Seuil published Vampires in 2011, after Jonquet died in 2009. latestnetflix.com's read is that actuaLitte called the Netflix series a loose take on that last, unfinished book.Creators Benjamin Dupas and Isaure Pisani-Ferry adapted it. Netflix France dated the drop 20 March 2020. Six episodes, about 40 minutes each. 
, ,
The English page still sells a half-human, half-vampire Paris teen hunted by a secret community. Doina is Oulaya Amamra, not a supporting player. Suzanne Clement plays her mother, Martha Radescu. Kate Moran plays Csilla Nemeth, the Community's queen in the opening 2003 attack. ,
Siblings on the call sheet
AlloCine flagged the family casting on the trailer day. Amamra, who broke out in Divines, plays Doina. Her real brother Mounir Amamra plays Andrea, the sibling who talks her off the pills. Juliette Cardinski is Irina, an older sister, not the lead. Pierre Lottin is Rad. Aliocha Schneider, Niels Schneider's brother, is in the company.
Martha makes the younger kids take pills so they can walk in daylight. Decider's John Serba walked through the pilot. Rad and Irina break into the zoo and snack on peacocks and coyotes. They live under the city. Rad brings home Kobe-beef blood from the abattoir where he works. Irina's sex scene is on a butcher's table, covered in blood. Serba named Lottin and Cardinski the sleeper energy.
Stream It, then a 3.5, then silence
Serba's call was STREAM IT. "Vampires is pretty good, but it's no Buffy. Then again, what is?" He liked the red, yellow, and green lighting, and the half-vamp idea. He also quoted Csilla's line, "She's special. Very special. Special... in a hybrid way." Review Geek later scored season 1 at 3.5 out of 10 and blamed a "trademark Netflix cliffhanger" in episode 6. ,
The Community, in Serba's read, runs like a condo board that drinks blood. Rad and Irina contact it because they want new fake IDs and are tired of exile. Andrea stops the pills with no change. Doina stops them and wakes up stronger, and her crush Nacer (Dylan Robert) starts looking like food. The parting shot is her mouth coated with his blood.
No second season on the board
Netflix France posted the official trailer on 4 March 2020. The copy says Doina is 17, a hybrid, a danger to friends by day and a prize for the Community at night. AlloCine listed 6x40 and a full-season dump on 20 March. Treat a follow-up as rumor only. Nobody posted an order. ,
The unfinished novel is the extra noise. Jonquet left a Radescu clan in Belleville. Dupas and Pisani-Ferry moved that into a teen hybrid and a six-hour Netflix week. The gossip is the gap. A dead crime writer's last draft became a French original, then stopped at the cliff. ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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