Hey, everyone! How’s it going? Today I’m here to review the drama Star-Crossed, which brought an ambitious blend of science fiction, teen romance, and social commentary to The CW with all the star-crossed love and interspecies drama you could want from a supernatural romance series.
Star-Crossed premiered on The CW on February 17, 2014, delivering 13 episodes with an average runtime of 42 minutes each. The series concluded on May 12, 2014, after being canceled due to low ratings. Created by Meredith Averill, this science fiction romantic drama stars Aimee Teegarden as Emery Whitehill and Matt Lanter as Roman, exploring their forbidden romance between a human girl and an alien boy when he and six others of his kind are integrated into a suburban high school ten years after aliens crash-landed on Earth.
Set in the near-future year of 2024 in the fictional Louisiana town of Edendale, Star-Crossed uses its alien integration storyline as an allegory for real-world issues of immigration, prejudice, and otherness. The series doesn’t shy away from exploring themes of xenophobia, internment camps, and the challenges of peaceful coexistence between different species, all wrapped in the framework of a teen romance drama.
Emery’s Compassionate Heart: The Human Who Remembers
Aimee Teegarden delivers a sincere performance as Emery Whitehill, a teenage girl who first encountered Roman as a six-year-old child when the Atrians crash-landed on Earth. Emery’s character represents hope and acceptance in a world filled with fear and prejudice against the alien refugees. Her unwavering belief in the possibility of human-Atrian cooperation drives much of the series’ optimistic undertone, even when faced with violence and hatred from both sides.
Throughout the thirteen episodes, Emery’s journey involves navigating her feelings for Roman while dealing with the social consequences of defending the Atrian integration program. Teegarden brings authenticity to a character who could have been simply the sympathetic human love interest, instead creating someone whose compassion feels genuine rather than naive.
Roman’s Dual Identity: The Atrian Caught Between Worlds
Matt Lanter shines as Roman, an Atrian teenager who must balance his loyalty to his people with his growing feelings for Emery and his desire to build bridges between the two species. Roman’s character arc explores the complexities of being an outsider trying to assimilate while maintaining his cultural identity. His supernatural abilities and alien heritage create constant tension as he tries to appear normal while harboring secrets that could endanger both himself and those he cares about.
Roman’s struggle between his peaceful intentions and the more militant factions within his own community provides the series with its most compelling internal conflict. Lanter brings depth to a character who must serve as both romantic lead and symbol of his entire species’ potential for coexistence.
The Integration Experiment: When Prejudice Meets Hope
The series builds its central tension around the controversial decision to integrate seven Atrian teenagers into a human high school as a test of whether the two species can peacefully coexist. This storyline allows Star-Crossed to explore themes of systemic racism, cultural misunderstanding, and the power of education to either bridge divides or reinforce them. The school becomes a microcosm of larger societal tensions between humans and Atrians.
The integration program faces opposition from anti-Atrian groups, suspicious government officials, and even members of both communities who prefer separation to the messy complications of trying to live together. These external pressures constantly threaten to tear apart the fragile progress being made.
Friends and Enemies on Both Sides
The series features strong supporting performances from Grey Damon as Grayson, Emery’s human love interest who represents the complications of her divided loyalties, and Malese Jow as Julia, Emery’s best friend whose terminal illness might be cured by Atrian medicine. These characters add layers to the central romance while exploring how the alien presence affects different members of the human community.
The Atrian characters, including other integrated students and community leaders, provide different perspectives on how to handle human-Atrian relations, from peaceful cooperation to armed resistance. These varying viewpoints create realistic complexity within the alien community.
Success and Cancellation on The CW
Star-Crossed earned a 7.1 rating on IMDb but struggled to find a large enough audience to secure renewal. The series was canceled by The CW on May 8, 2014, after one season of thirteen episodes due to low ratings despite having a passionate fanbase. The show’s ambitious premise and social commentary received praise from critics who appreciated its attempt to use science fiction to address contemporary issues, though some felt the execution didn’t quite match the concept’s potential.
A Sci-Fi Romance That Tackled Real Issues
If you love science fiction romance, stories about overcoming prejudice, and teen dramas with deeper social commentary, Star-Crossed was the perfect series to binge during its brief run on The CW. The show proved that even canceled series can offer meaningful exploration of love, acceptance, and the courage required to bridge differences between communities.
Why Star-Crossed Deserved More Time
Star-Crossed stands as an ambitious series that used its supernatural premise to explore very real issues about prejudice, acceptance, and the challenges of building understanding between different communities. While it only lasted one season, the thirteen episodes offered a complete story arc that combined romance, social commentary, and science fiction elements in a way that felt both entertaining and meaningful.
Series Details
Number of Episodes: 13 (canceled after one season)
Platform: The CW (originally aired), various streaming platforms
Release/End Year: 2014
Current IMDb Rating: 7.1
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, Teen Drama
Status: Canceled after one season
Protagonists: Aimee Teegarden (Emery Whitehill), Matt Lanter (Roman)
Key Supporting Cast: Grey Damon (Grayson Montrose), Malese Jow (Julia Yeung), Natalie Hall (Taylor Montrose)