Brand New Cherry Flavor’s Kittens Explained

Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor has generated a lot of buzz around its (often gross) use of kittens, but here’s an explanation for what they really mean. Set in the early 1990s, the horror drama – which was inspired by the Todd Grimson novel of the same name – follows young filmmaker and aspiring director Lisa Nova (Rosa Salazar) as she travels to Hollywood for a meeting about a movie of hers. Unfortunately, her entertainment industry street smarts haven’t been honed yet. And like so many well-intentioned and trusting souls, she’s tricked and betrayed by a washed-up, sexually inappropriate, and occasionally violent movie producer named Lou Burke (Eric Lange). She even unknowingly signs away the ability to direct her film that she cares about more than anything.

A witch by the name of Boro (Catherine Keener) swiftly introduces herself to Lisa after her LA arrival at the beginning of Brand New Cherry Flavor, and in doing so gives a new meaning to the term “cat lady.” Not only does she always have kittens near her or in her arms, but she also requires them as payment for her revenge services. When Lisa first enlists her help for targeting Lou, there’s even a tone-setting, revolting scene where – thanks to Boro’s dark magic – she vomits a kitten to give to the witch.

As its quirky description promises, kittens are an oddly integral component of the show. It’s eventually revealed that Boro is drinking the felines’ blood to gain some of the feisty protagonist’s strength. But there’s more to the animals’ inclusion than the series’ purposely bizarre nature; they help tell Lisa’s highly allegorical story. As many viewers have already deduced, the show is a blatantly MeToo movement-inspired revenge story that illustrates Hollywood’s calloused, “dog-eat-dog,” often abusive nature. As Looper succinctly pointed out, “Brand New Cherry Flavor is ultimately about the allure, dynamics, and price of power.” Lisa is forced to learn some of the industry’s nastier lessons on the fly. Those who feign believing in her or an interest in helping her have ulterior motives. And, with the case of someone like Lou, how much power and notoriety one wields makes all the difference as to whether or not they’ll actually be held accountable. The show uses ultra-gross concepts and scenes, like vomiting kittens, to illustrate real-world dynamics that are equally as disturbing.

And just as the protagonist in Lisa’s film is trapped in a “paranoid thriller” where everyone is trying to steal something inside of her, Lisa experiences the same thing. People want something from her throughout the Netflix horror series, and even seeking revenge pulls her into a dangerous alliance that comes back to bite her. Both Lou and Boro (the latter betrays her as well) are both attempting to take things from her – creativity and ideas, innocence and trust, her sexuality when she’s uninterested, and even her very strength.

Boro, who’s supposedly rendering Lisa services to help her, is feeding on the blood of creatures that come from within her being. The depravity and self-interest of Hollywood are literally sucking the life right out of her. Unfortunately, when she arrives in LA, Lisa is – in some ways – as innocent and unknowing as the kittens she unconventionally births. Brand New Cherry Flavor smartly uses the animals to flesh out a well-known tale of entertainment industry-related power dynamics, disillusionment, and unfairness that have become increasingly exposed in the recent years since predatory stories – like those involving Harvey Weinstein and similar figures – first broke on a wide scale. And it does all of that while being an engrossing and pleasantly odd eight-episode ride.

About The Author

Lindsey DeRoche
(205 Articles Published)

Lindsey DeRoche is a TV and movie features writer for Screen Rant. She received a BA in English, with a concentration in writing, from Plymouth State University in 2018. She’s had a passion for reading, writing, TV, and movies since her early years.

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