This Show Was Supposed To Be A Gift: Teen Wolf + Race

By Guest Contributor Kendra James

l-r: Stiles (Dylan O’Brien), Scott (Tyler Posey), Allison (Crystal Reed) and Derek (Tyler Hoechlin)

I never wanted to write about MTV’s Teen Wolf on the R. I tried so hard to avoid writing about it that, until this point, I’ve ignored that one time one of the lead actors got caught in blackface, a season and a half worth of problematic characters of color, and the question of whitewashed heroes. This show was supposed to be lighthearted fun peppered with beautiful abdominal muscles.

Unfortunately, that changed in the course of hours one night when Jeff Davis, the show’s creator, started a Tumblr, dedicated his inaugural post to the topic of race of the show, received over 1,000 notes on said post, and then deleted everything altogether when his opinions on race and diversity were not taken well by a PoC and social justice-themed audiences.

It’s the classic case of another well-meaning white male who forgot to check his white privilege at the door.

Because most people have better taste in television than I do, a little background: the show is a scripted drama based on the movie of the same name, starring a Latino actor, Tyler Posey, as Scott McCall. It’s a silly, ridiculous show filled with plot holes and lazy writing that occasionally provides comedic gems–and, like I said, beautiful abs.

Seth Gilliam as Dr. Deaton

From the beginning the show had symptoms of a Magical Negro issue, when the only black character, Dr. Deaton (Seth Gilliam), was a mysterious veterinarian who had no background, first name, or personality but was always there to answer questions and help other characters (sometimes with magic!) in their time of need. The character had me raising an eyebrow, but again there were good-looking men…and the one thing I wanted to avoid was to ever have to mention this program here.

In season two, we’ve met Boyd (Sinqua Walls), one of three new teenage werewolves, and Ms. Morrell (Bianca Lawson), a guidance counselor with vague ties to Deaton. Along with Deaton, both are supporting characters, and that has been one of the main excuses given by Davis when the lack of development in the show’s Black characters is brought up.

While Davis did delete his tumblr and the post, everyone knows that the internet is forever. You can read it here in full without comment, but for now let’s have a look at how Davis sees race on his show:

First off, the lack of story development for Boyd’s character. I have said numerous times in interviews that the new supporting characters are there to “support” the main characters. I have 41 minutes a week in which to tell a story. It’s not easy to service every character equally!

Gage Golightly as Erica Reyes.

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