Web Series Recommendation: Carmilla

For anyone that watched The Lizzie Bennett Diaries and thought, “this would be better with lesbian vampires”…boy do I have good news for you! Carmilla is a web series based on Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 Gothic novella about a young woman drawn to a female vampire named Carmilla. The story pre-dates Bram Stoker’s Dracula and has inspired many adaptations, but none are quite as fun as this most recent offering. It’s like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Welcome to Night Vale and The Lizzie Bennett Diaries had a love child – and it’s everything you never knew you always wanted.

Laura Hollis (Elise Bauman) has just begun her video journalism project (because that’s what all the cool kids are doing these days), when her roommate goes missing. Her roommate is replaced by the mysterious (not to mention sexy) Carmilla (Natasha Negovanlis), but Laura’s not one to let things go. She’s seen every episode of Veronica Mars and she’s determined to find out what really happened to her roommate. She soon assembles her own Scooby Gang and sets about trying to figure out what’s really going on at Sillas University. Can she uncover the truth before she becomes a victim herself?

Similar to the Pemberley Digital series, Carmilla reimagines a classic story in a modern setting. But the thing that is truly wonderful about Carmilla is that it takes a cautionary tale about female sexuality – from a genre that is known for punishing/condemning women for their sexuality – and turns it into a tale about female friendship that celebrates same gender romance. Seriously, the majority of the cast are women, the dudebro frat boys are the butt of everyone’s jokes, and there’s an all-girl love triangle. No wonder the fangirls are going banana roundabouts over this series. It’s amazing!

There is a growing – and extremely active – fandom for this series with over 60 fics on AO3 already. Considering that it only started in August that’s a pretty decent effort. Those on Tumblr might have seen the gifsets going around, and there is a MASSIVE amount of fabulous fan art out there. Sure, a thriving fandom isn’t the only reason to watch this series, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Artist: ackermans

Carmilla is dark, witty, and hilariously funny. It’s got queer leading ladies and a predominately female cast with so much chemistry you won’t know what to do with it. It’s a must see, although I recommend marathoning a few episodes to start, because it takes a little while to get into. New episodes are posted Tuesday and Thursday, so go catch up on the series here!

Find Carmilla on Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr 

Author: Undie Girl

Undie Girl (aka Von) has a BA (Hons) Major in Cultural Studies. The title of her honours thesis was “It’s just gay and porn”: Power, Identity and the Fangirl’s Gaze. She’s currently pursuing a Masters of Media Practice at University of Sydney. Von’s a former contributor The Backlot’s column The Shipping News and a current co-host of The Geekiary’s monthly webcast FEELINGS… with The Geekiary.

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