The 'Sweet Tooth' Pilot Was Shot Before the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Jun. 9 2021, Published 11:14 a.m. ET
Netflix's latest hit original series is Sweet Tooth, which tells the story of Gus (Christian Convery), a young boy who is part human and part deer. The 10-year-old was born a "hybrid" because of the H5G9 virus, which caused a pandemic known as "The Great Crumble." When the show begins, Gus wants to locate his mother.
Though many fear and hunt down the hybrids because they are unsure if they still carry the deadly virus, Gus ends up befriending a full human named Tommy "Big Man" Jepperd (Nonso Anozie).
The two set out on a journey across the United States, and they encounter a multitude of different beings along the way — and not everyone is a friend.
Because the H5G9 virus symptoms and its wide-reaching effects are very familiar to anyone who is living through the coronavirus pandemic, some viewers are wondering when exactly Sweet Tooth was filmed.
When was 'Sweet Tooth' filmed?
The show, which is adapted from the comic book series of the same name by Jeff Lemire, was originally commissioned by Hulu in 2018. The streaming service ordered a pilot episode that would be produced by Warner Bros. Television and Team Downey (which was founded by husband and wife duo Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey).
The opening episode was filmed in New Zealand in 2019, long before the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions began. Once the pilot was filmed, production on the rest of the Sweet Tooth series paused.
In April of 2020, the comic book adaptation moved to another streaming service: Netflix. An exact reason for this change has not been publicly revealed. The pilot episode that had been shot for Hulu is the one used in the series.
Netflix gave Sweet Tooth a full-season order of eight episodes. Filming picked back up in the summer of 2020, and it was one of the few shows that was allowed to shoot in New Zealand at the time.
The ongoing pandemic did halt production at one point, though it ended up resuming in the fall of 2020. Sweet Tooth officially wrapped on Season 1 in mid-December of 2020.
Will 'Sweet Tooth' return for Season 2?
Netflix has not yet announced whether Sweet Tooth will return for a second season. The streaming service generally renews shows months after they debut. Since the comic series came out on June 4, fans should not expect to hear a decision until the late summer or early fall of 2021.
The fantasy drama did perform well in the first few days following its release, which bodes well for a Season 2 order. The show quickly placed in the first spot on Netflix's Top 10 list in the United States, and it has stayed there for several consecutive days.
However, Jupiter's Legacy also did well on the streamer, and it was axed after one season. This was reportedly due to a high production budget and because of creative differences.
Sweet Tooth co-showrunner Beth Schwartz confirmed that there are plans from a plot perspective for the show to continue.
"We're concentrating obviously on the launch for season one, but we definitely broke season one with the hope of future seasons," she told RadioTimes.
