Should we take a package for this “Gossip Girl” from the snow-capped mountains of Tyrol?

Since its launch on Netflix on December 30, the German series Kitz has settled into the top 10 most watched programs on the Los Gatos platform. The title Kitz evokes the plural of the word child in English and Kitzbühel, a luxury ski resort in Tyrol, Austria, which is to the Alps what Aspen is to the Rockies, in which the action of this teen-drama takes place. Should we take a package for the six episodes of this teen-drama in the sauce Gossip Girl in the snow-capped mountains of Tyrol?

The story follows Lisi (Sofie Eifertinger), a 19-year-old woman born in Kitzbühel, who lost her brother Joseph (Felix Mayr) in a car accident on New Year’s Eve. A year after this painful loss, Lisi gave up her place in the prestigious London fashion school Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and works as a waitress. While a series of flashbacks relates the night of the drama, the young woman explains in voiceover to the viewer that she wants to avenge her death.

“Kitz” often takes the green slopes

To unmask the one she holds responsible for her brother’s death, Lisi will join a band of wealthy teenagers with the help of a friend of her brother’s, Hans (Ben Felipe). Each winter, they storm the luxurious ski resort of Kitzbühel. A pitch reminiscent of that of Revenge. On the plot side, Kitz takes the green tracks.

Jenny, sorry Lisi, is going to plot to become friends with Serena van der Woodsen, sorry, Vanessa vin Höhenfelt (Valerie Huber), an it girl, as rich as plague. This will be without counting on the jealousy of the BFF of the influencer, Blair Waldorf, sorry, Pippa (Krista Tcherneva).

Fortunately, she can count on the support of Nate, sorry, Dominik (Bless Amada), Vanessa’s black boyfriend, and Chuck, sorry, Kosh (Zoran Pingel), the wealthy heir to the luxury hotel in which the little one clique takes up residence. This young gay man, who has become even more addicted to drugs and sex since his father’s death, is undoubtedly the most endearing character in history.

In voiceover, Lisi philosophizes on the phases of mourning and reveals her treacherous plan which seems to work, if as in chess (hello, The Lady’s Game), Lisi is only a “pawn”, but intends to become a “queen”.

An avalanche of twists and turns

Like Jenny in Gossip Girl, Lisi then discovers behind the scenes of the glamorous everyday life of the gang made up of champagne galore, spas and stilettos, where the obsession with money, fame and the search for thrills can have dramatic consequences. Excesses that arouse criticism and even hostility from the local population. Over the course of the six episodes, Lisi will also discover that the good guys are not always good and the rich are not just superficial. Who would have thought? The cliché endures.

Kitz delivers an avalanche of twists and turns: betrayals, dark secrets, lies, perversity… This “mysterious drama for young adults”, as Netflix calls this new production, is in line with soaps for teens mixed with thrillers that are Pretty Little Liars Where Elite, and in the soap genre, is quite effective.

A little off-piste

The series is still a bit off-piste. The wonderfully snow-covered decor of the ski resort, and the mulled wine flowing freely in the bar where Lisi works, it is a change from the corridors of high-school American.

Even if across the Rhine, on Reddit, German viewers are already finding some clichés: “I couldn’t stand the first episode. If the locals already speak High German… well thank you ”or even:“ I already understand that apparently German holidaymakers do not need to have a dialect, but local farmers could have been cast a little more authentically ”.

An additional star

It is in the form that Kitz really deserves an extra star. As the German press points out, the creators made the daring choice to deliberately dispense with retouching or filters.

As in the Swedish series Young Royals in which the young prince also appears quite naturally with his acne, Lisi has pimples, it shows, it is not a subject, but the most normal thing in the world.

“Lisi shouldn’t have a perfect image or appearance, she should look natural for an exciting contrast to the two influencers with perfect baby skin,” showrunner Nikolaus Schulz-Dornburg explains to our German colleagues from TresClick. The series is part of the #skinpositivity movement and demonstrates an all too rare authenticity in the staging of adolescents. We don’t need series that look like our Insta feed anymore, right?

So, should you take a package for Kitz? Yes, if you like teen drama about golden youth like Newport Beach Where Gossip Girl. But if you prefer the black runs of HBO, then watch season 2 ofEuphoria, available on OCS.