Review of “Paper Girls”: Despite the “Stranger Things” analogies, it’s a fun and empowering journey

If Stranger Things has you feeling nostalgic for ‘80s sci-fi, paper girls are the next best thing. A new comic book series by former Star Wars artist Brian K. Vaughn, paper girls tackles the dangers of coming of age in the shadow of a future that never happened. The story follows four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls as they ride their bikes on the outskirts of Cincinnati and cope with an unknown supernatural threat all while navigating puberty and playing with crushes.

Introduction to The Paper Girls

In 2006, director Bryan Singer formed the production company Bad Hat Harry Productions with his wife and partner, producer Kathleen Kennedy. The two had already been successfully working on films together since 2001 and wanted to branch out into television. After years of being turned down by networks, they signed on with ABC Family and Atlantic Records to create a show that would become “The Paper Girls”. A coming-of-age drama that follows Lauren Ambrose’s character as she navigates her senior year in a world ruled by cliques and social hierarchies. She is determined to go against the popular crowd but struggles when she becomes the new girl in school – only for her to find out that fitting in is just what she was always supposed to do.

Character names in The Paper Girls

Sofia Rosinsky
Fina Strazza
Riley Lai Nelet
Camryn Jones
Nate Corddry
Nate Corddry
William Bennett
Meg Thalken
Sekai Abenì
Ali Wong
Kai Young
Adina Porter

Story of The The Paper Girls

The Paper Girls is a coming-of-age story of five girls that challenges the norms for female protagonists. The protagonist, Erin, is a young woman who has been dealing with crippling anxiety and depression. She has been struggling her whole life to find her place in society as she questions what it means to be a woman in today’s society. To get away from the turmoil she sees on television and in the newsfeed every day, Erin decides to move into an empty house with three other women: her best friend Casey; Casey’s girlfriend Mona; and Mona’s pregnant sister Caitlin.

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They make their own rules for their small community in which they live together rent-free until the baby comes along. However, their happiness is short-lived as they soon learn that the house is haunted. The ghost, a young girl named Liz, can’t find her way home and the group has to help her find it and get back home before it’s too late.

The ‘Paper Girls’ Adaptation on Prime Video: What We Loved

If you’re a sci-fi fan, it’s easy to get obsessed with the genre. It’s the perfect blend of creativity and mystery. And given that there are a lot of fantastical shows on TV these days, there are plenty of options for some great viewing (looking at you Stranger Things). If you’ve found yourself getting hooked on sci-fi, then you need to check out Prime Video’s Paper Girls series. There are only four episodes in this adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang’s comic books about four paper girls delivering newspapers in 1988 suburban Cleveland… but each episode is packed with immensely entertaining and beautifully inventive sci-fi that is bursting at the seams with imagination.

Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang’s Paper Girls runs for four episodes which are set in 1988 suburban Cleveland. It follows four paper girls, Erin (Taylor Schilling), Mac (Emma Appleton), Tiffany (Brittany Ishibashi), and KJ (Kiera Canon) as they deliver papers to homes throughout the city and suburbs daily.

What do you think about The Paper Girls?