A TEACHER

BY: Georgia Davis

Netflix offers you a new guilty pleasure with A Teacher. The scandalous series stars Kate Mara and Nick Robinson (Love, Simon) in the compelling, seductive drama. 

Based on the title, you probably realize it’s about a teacher. She starts an affair with a student. It’s not a scenario we condone in real life, but it is one that we don’t mind seeing on screen (the affair is deemed mild at best and doesn’t go too far). Based on the trailer — watch it above — the series doesn’t gloss over the relationship’s power dynamic. There is an explicit advisory before every episode that warns about the provocative subject matter.

Other than its enticing plot, what makes A Teacher standout is its two lead actors: Kate Mara and Nick Robinson. Mara has been nearly everything under the sun in her twenty-year career: 24, We Are Marshall, American Horror Story, Fantastic 4, House of Cards, Pose, and more. Until now, the actress rarely got the lead role, often falling into the perpetual habit of a background actor. But A Teacher allows her to show her talents and dig deep into the psyche of her character. 

Then there’s up-and-comer Nick Robinson. He got his big break on the then-ABC Family sitcom Melissa and Joey. After four seasons, he started appearing in films. His most notable was in the young adult fiction adaptations of Everything, Everything, and Love, Simon. In the latter, he gained mainstream recognition for playing a gay teen who starts a movement of people in school coming out as straight as a sign of allyship. Now, it seems, the 24-year-old is taking on more adult roles and broadening his scope. A Teacher is just his first upcoming project. He is also set to star in the 2021 series Maid. 

A Teacher comes from creator and director Hannah Fidell and based on a movie she made in 2013 of the same name. (You might notice the posters are very similar). A Teacher is ten episodes, all at 30 minutes each, making it a perfect popcorn series.