In case you missed it, last summer “Stitchers” premiered on Freeform (formerly ABC Family) which was the station’s first procedural drama. It follows Kirsten Clark (Emma Ishta) who has the fictional condition of Temporal Dysplasia which causes her to be unable to sense the passing of time. This “disability” actually makes her a unique candidate for a covert government agency called the “Stitchers Program.” Team lead of the program, Maggie Baptiste (Salli Richardson), recruits Kirsten to the program where she is “stitched” into the minds of murdered victims in order to solve crimes with the help of a group of saavy science-oriented 20-somethings, Cameron (Kyle Harris), Linus (Ritesh Rajan), and Camille (Allison Scagliotti).
I was interested in watching this show originally because it looked like a cool science-fiction take on the crime procedural TV drama. So I tried it, and then I was hooked! It has all the fun science fiction and action-packed crime drama that you could want, but my favorite part of the series so far is the quirky cast of characters. So with Stitchers Season 2 premiering at 10 pm on Tuesday March 22nd, I felt like as a Stitchers fan, it was my duty to tell the world how awesome this show is so you can enjoy it too! So here are my Top 10 Reasons You Should Watch Stitchers!
#1: Linus and Camille
They have the best chemistry! It’s quirky and weird, but the episode where Camille meets Linus’s parents because he had told them he had a girlfriend under stressful conditions (he thought he was going to die…) is a heart-melter!
#2: Cameron and Kirsten
I feel like 99% of the people who love Stitchers love it because of the relationship between Cameron and Kirsten. I mean, we start out the entire series with a totally HOT kiss between the two that actually didn’t mean anything at all. But it was great foreshadowing to the potential they have as a couple. Also, the whole series is both about their relationship and not about it at all. It seems counterintuitive to say that, but it’s true! It’s really about their friendship and how Kirsten, as a girl who can’t sense time and therefore can’t truly experience emotion, comes to trust and care for her new coworker.
#3: Kirsten
Kirsten is just a really interesting character. To be totally honest though, she seems like a bitch in the first episode. She’s so detached from the world, but you learn later in the season that’s because of her Temporal Dysplasia which makes her great at stitching but not so much at making friends. Yet somehow she still does find friends through the Stitchers program who genuinely care about her, and we grow to love her just like they do.
#4: Temporal Dysplasia
This is one of those weird made up conditions that sounds just crazy enough to be real. Plus the Stitchers marketing team did an awesome job by actually creating a legitimate-looking (but fake) website explaining the condition and how scientists have studied it. I know from the comments that I wasn’t the first person to be fooled into thinking “well yeah, maybe that IS a real thing!”
#5: Cameron
Cameron is a nerdy neuroscientist heartthrob! He’s smart, sassy, and the leader of the Stitchers team (essentially he “drives” the stitch). Plus he has some mysterious backstory (like that giant scar on his chest from open heart surgery as a child) which has to be explored more in the coming season. And then there’s the fact that he genuinely cares for Kirsten. She might seem completely crazy at times and can’t properly express emotion, but he’s always got her back.
#6: The Mystery Behind the Stitchers Program
There’s something crazy going on in the dusty and dark rafters of the Stitchers’ program. We know Kirsten is somehow in the center of it, but she doesn’t remember (thanks to her Temporal Dysplasia). Essentially, this show is about way more than seeing the memories of dead people to solve crimes.
#7: Kirsten’s messed up family history
(SPOILER) She was the first person to be stitched. Except her father stitched her into her unconscious (but still alive) mother’s mind which ended up killing her mother and causing Kirsten’s Temporal Dysplasia and loss of her memories. Plus there’s the whole issue with her father and adopted father’s role in the creation of the Stitchers program.
#8: Maggie Baptiste
I didn’t really like Maggie until the last few episodes of Season 1. She’s made out to be the bad guy who has all the answers about the Stitchers program but refuses to give them up even when people’s lives are in danger. But her character really starts to open up in singular scenes later in the season when she’s on the phone with still-unknown characters. You see that she’s got a soft underbelly beneath that spiky and scary government-issued armor.
#9: A Science-Fiction Take on Crime Procedural Dramas
Everybody loves a good crime procedural! I mean, why else have shows like “Criminal Minds” and “Law & Order” and “NCIS” been popular for so many seasons? So why not throw just a little bit of science-fiction into the mix—like seeing dead people’s memories to solve crimes—to mix up that overdone format for a new and younger generation? I think it’s a recipe for awesome!
#10: Camille and Kirsten’s friendship
Camille and Kirsten are roommates. Camille and Kirsten are opposites in every way. Camille is bubbly and full of life. Kirsten is reserved and emotionless. They are not friends when we start this show. In fact, they’re actually enemies since Camille claims that Kirsten has stolen her Caltech thesis work. But their opposite personalities develop over the season to be complimentary rather than opposing so that they have the kind of love-you-hate-you kind of friendship that most shows give to two male characters. It’s a fresh take on female friendship and makes me a little jealous of it!
Right now you can catch up on all 10 episodes from the first season on Freeform’s website and app for free! So binge it now before Season 2 premieres next week! And let me know how excited you are for the new season! The world needs to be watching Stitchers!
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