The Savages is an American musical comedy-drama fanfiction series that first aired on May 10, 2015 and ended on December 10, 2019. It focuses on a group of rebellious high school students trying to survive high school and adolescent challenges. They oppose the social and political corruption of James A. Masters High School, as well as the social flaws of the cliques. The members are called The Savages, which consist of a president, vice president, and secretary.
The Savages garnered success critically and commercially in its first season, with its edgy themes, music choices, characters and storylines praised. It would not only develop more seasons throughout its run, but create a series universe that spawned two television spin-offs, Controversy (2017) and Campus (2018), as well as three feature films to conclude the show: The Savages: Vegas Heist (2024), The Savages Gone Wild (2027) and The Fate of The Savages (2030).
Background and production[]
Over the course of two years, the show's creator REBELReloaded written and produced three Glee fanfictions, Glee: Make It or Break It, Glee: Las Vegas and Glee: Los Angeles that were discontinued. Glee: Make It or Break It, however, was considered a success by critics and fans alike as well as the short-lived Glee: Los Angeles that only aired with three episodes. REBELReloaded revealed that he wanted to particularly drift away from Glee fanfictions because of the actual show's bittersweet ending which would end on March 20, 2015.
On April 2015, REBELReloaded pitched the concept of The Savages and promotion for the fanfiction series began in May, with several characters' faces covered by the show's logo. The aesthetics of the promotional releases garnered attraction by fans and the announcement for the series was announced soon after for a May 10 premiere.
The show is loosely based on REBELReloaded's activity and relationships with users on Glee Wiki who are portrayed respectively in the series. The show would be set in a suburban area in Seattle, Washington, at a slightly popular high school location. In comparison to his previous Glee fanfictions, musical covers from artists are used, but the series focuses less on Broadway choices and more on rap, classic rock, R&B and pop.
Concept[]
The concept of this series reflects on the reckless behavior of the users on Glee Wiki. Users are more prone to resist the Glee Wiki rules, state their opinions in an intimidating way. The characters of the series are also based on the personalities of the people whose characters are based off of them, including the fanfiction writer himself. Overtime, the series began to stray away from the autobiographical resemblances by adding newer characters that weren't based on Glee Wiki users; this particularly would begin in Season 3 until the end of the series' run.
Cast and characters[]
- Main Cast
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- Supporting Cast
- Michael Michele as Stacey Ventura
- Patrick Warburton as Coach Jarrett Radnor (season 1-4; guest season 5)
- Dave Franco as Viktor "Slick Vik" Nichols (season 1-2; guest season 4-5)
- Travis Slotemaker as Brian Gustin (season 1-2; guest season 4-5)
- Adam Hagenbuch as Dan "Dirty Dan" Daniels (season 1; guest season 2, 4-5)
- Luke Bilyk as Rufus King (season 1-4; guest season 5)
- Ryan Kelley as Kyler Chase (season 1-2; guest season 5)
- Tyler James Williams as Matt Park (season 1-4; guest season 5)
- Cody Christian as Kalleb Banks (season 1-3; guest season 5)
- Rita Volk as Cass Everett (season 1-2; guest season 5)
- AJ Michalka as Angelika Summers (season 1-2, 4)
- Cymphonique Miller as Brianna Townsend (season 1-4)
- Chad James Buchanan as Mr. Shane Baldwin (season 1-2; guest season 5)
- Sasha Pieterse as Sis Davenport (season 2-3; guest season 4-5)
- Joseph Sikora as Eli Hawk/Scott Deegan (season 1-2; guest season 5)
- Guest Cast
- Miles Teller as Glenn Pierce (season 1-2, 5)
- Nicholas Hoult as Liam Newton (season 1-2, 5)
- Amandla Stenberg as Abcde (season 1)
- Jay Ali as Eric Baxter (season 1-2)
- Vin Diesel as Sean Romano (season 1, 4-5)
- Rosie Perez as Felicia Ortiz (season 1-2, 4)
- Wendi McLendon-Covey as Susan McFadden (season 1)
- Ben Savage as Howard Lee (season 1-2, 4)
- Elise Neal as Angela Jones (season 1-3, 4-5)
- Shad Moss as Troy Bowman (season 1)
- Tristan Wilds as X (season 1)
- Matt Dillon as Eric Touché (season 1-3, 4-5)
- Kelly Rowan as Karen Touché (season 1-5)
- George MacKay as Kyle Hepburn-Berry (season 1, 4-5)
- Nicola Peltz as Alison Montserrat (season 1)
- Ashanti as Keisha Donovan (season 1, 4)
- Nicki Minaj as Dr. Sonya Mitchell (season 1)
- Javier Bardem as Armando Herrera (season 1-2, 4-5)
- Constance Marie as Maria Herrera (season 1-5)
- Michelle Rodriguez as Izzy Herrera (season 1, 4-5)
- Diego Boneta as Andres Rivera (season 1-2)
- Francia Raisa as Marisol De La Cruz (season 1-2)
- Courteney Cox as Kelly Foxx (season 1-3, 5)
- Brian Van Holt as William Foxx (season 1-2, 5)
- Ryan Reynolds as Spencer Tatum (season 2)
- Zachary Gordon as Andrew McAllister (season 2-3)
- Parker Posey as Kirsten Winchester (season 2)
- Paula Patton as Detective Jacqui Sinclair (season 2)
- Allison Janney as Kate Valance (season 2-3, 5)
- James Earl Jones as J.B. Hendricks (season 2, 4)
- Margaret Avery as Juanita Hendricks (season 2)
- Vanessa L. Williams as Gail Hendricks (season 2-4)
- Jasmine Guy as Wendy Hendricks (season 2, 4)
- Tisha Campbell-Martin as Brenda Hendricks (season 2-4)
- Nicole Ari Parker as Angie Drake-Hendricks (season 2, 4)
- Khalil Kain as Shawn Hendricks (season 2, 4)
- Trevor Jackson as Rashad Hendricks (season 2, 4)
- Tequan Richmond as Darrell Hendricks (season 2, 4)
- Jeremy Sisto as Samuel Woods (season 2-5)
- Anika Noni Rose as Loretha Woods (season 2-5)
- Francis Capra as Cam Sansaverino (season 3)
- Faizon Love as Reggie Campbell (season 3)
- Giovonnie Samuels as Jill Goodwin (season 3-4)
- Teyonah Parris as Danica Kane (season 3-4)
- Blair Underwood as Walter Kane, Esq. (season 3-4)
- Brant Daugherty as Eli Buchanan (season 3)
- Lance Gross as Marcus Ross (season 3-4)
- John Schneider as Sen. James Buchanan (season 3-4)
- Michelle Pfeiffer as Helen Buchanan (season 3)
- Cole Hauser as Stuart Everett (season 3)
- Cameos
- Adrienne Bailon
- Tamar Braxton
- Loni Love
- Tamera Mowry-Housley
- Jeannie Mai
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Candace Cameron-Bure
- Raven-Symone
- Rick Williams
Seasons[]
| Season | No. of Eps | Premiere episode | Aired | Finale episode | Aired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | The Mafia | May 10, 2015 | The Beast Unleashed | August 24, 2015 |
| 2 | 10 | The Alibi | May 24, 2016 | The Promenade | August 22, 2015 |
| 3 | 10 | The Boy Who Cried Savage | May 29, 2017 | The Second Nature | August 16, 2017 |
| 4 | 20 | The New York Minute, Part 1 and Part 2 | June 20, 2018 | The Savages Go Hollywood, Part 3 | December 19, 2018 |
| 5 | 20 | The New Blood | June 24, 2019 | The Kids Are Alright | December 16, 2019 |
Songs[]
Similar to Trae's numerous amounts of Glee spin-off series, The Savages includes covers from musical artists. The series, however, advocates an edgier sound and setting. Hip-hop artists such as Missy Elliott and Kanye West are used in the songs. The first song to be released from The Savages is "Hard" by Rihanna. The singles from the first episode, The Mafia, were released on the same day as its episode premiere. On May 20, 2015, the singles from second episode, The Devil's Protégé, were released.
In contrast to the Glee spin-offs, there are explicit versions to the singles. Since the series is for more mature audiences, there are explicit and amended versions ot mos of the singles, such as "Hard," "Pass That Dutch," where the clean version removes the intro, while the explicit version does not. "Teenagers," "Hollaback Girl," and "Clique" also have explicit versions. "I wanted to include explicit versions to reach to a different and larger audience. Changing the lyrics around all of the time makes it very difficult for fans to relate to the song," Trae said.
In the second season, a majority of the songs were classic rock infused, as well as hip-hop and pop eras from 1990s and 2000s. The second song of the second season, "Another Brick in the Wall" sets the tone for the aesthetic for the plot. Thus far, critics and fans alike have praised the song choices and distribution of songs that cater to not only the main characters, but the secondary/recurring characters as well. It was compared to 'Glee' and its distribution of solos and song choices and considered strongly superior.
Discography[]
- Music From The Savages, Volume One (2015)
- Music From The Savages, Volume Two (2015)
- Music From The Savages, Volume Three (2016)
- Music From The Savages, Volume Four (2016)
- Music From The Savages, Volume Five (2017)
- 'Music From The Savages, Volume Six (2017)
- Music From The Savages, Volume Seven(2018)
- Music From The Savages, The Hollywood Album (2018)
- Music From The Savages: Homecoming - The Final Album (2019)
- The Savages: Vegas Heist (soundtrack) (2024)
- The Savages Gone Wild (soundtrack) (2027)
- The Fate of The Savages (soundtrack) (2030)