Total Eclipse (web series)
Total Eclipse is an American teen drama streaming television series starring Mackenzie Ziegler, Lauren Orlando, Johnny Orlando, Emily Skinner, Nadia Turner, Devenity Perkins, and Darius Marcell. The series is produced by Brat and premiered on April 5, 2018 on Brat's YouTube channel.[1] It follows a group of high school students and concerns themes of bullying and teen relationships, including friendships, cliques and romances. The protagonist, Cassie, played by Ziegler, finds herself cast out of her childhood circle and seeks to re-establish those friendships, make new friends and negotiate social situations at school and in her community.[3][4] According to Brat's Instagram story on 7/26/20, the show's original title was "Moon School".
| Total Eclipse | |
|---|---|
 Season 3 poster | |
| Genre | Teen drama Comedy Fantasy |
| Created by |
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| Directed by | Jeff Jenkins[1] Chris Campbell[2] |
| Starring |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 42 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 8–17 minutes |
| Production company | Brat |
| Release | |
| Original network | Brat on YouTube |
| Original release | April 5, 2018 – September 3, 2020 |
Synopsis
Season 1
At Millwood High, Cassie is a teenager who was ditched by her childhood friends Diana, Morgan and Jenna. To cope with their bullying, she dreams of a fantasy world where she is an astronaut on the moon, a fantasy that she and her friends had devised as children. Cassie is loyal to her friends even after some of them betray her. Diana embarrasses Cassie by publicly revealing copies of Cassie's private drawings. Kate becomes friends with Cassie, who initially wanted to use Kate to win back her former friends, but later warms up to her. Their friendship is complicated because Kate has a tight relationship with her brother, Sam, and doesn't want her friends to date him, while Cassie and Sam harbour some feelings for each other. Jenna has a crush on Sam and kisses him, but tells him to keep it a secret. Jenna's parents have a difficult marriage. Luca is a boy at the shop where Kate works who also practices witchcraft, so he and Kate form a friendship, and later he develops feelings for her.
Season 2
Diana starts to imagine herself as a princess in her own world. Cassie and Sam briefly grapple with their crushes on each other, to Kate's dismay. Later, Morgan leaves Diana's group, and Kate distances herself from Luca and his darker witchcraft. Meanwhile, Jenna steals clothing from Luca's stepmother's store, which Cassie witnesses, and Cassie takes the blame for the shoplifting when Jenna doesn't reveal what she did to preserve her relationship with her boyfriend. After breaking up with Sam, Cassie was also ready to date Julian, a potential crush from her dance class, but then finds out Diana has reached Julian first. Jenna's situation at home starts to worsen, and she reveals that she escapes into her own world where she is the superhero.
The girls fantasize from time to time that they are in their own world. Luca offers to produce a song for Sam. Kate and Sam's ailing aunt Bonnie moves to live with them. After Bonnie dies, Cassie tries to help Sam and Kate cope with the death of their aunt, and Sam becomes closer with Cassie than before. Sam and Kate grieve at home for some time, and when they return to school they learn that Luca has taken credit for Sam's song. Sam confronts Luca, who later apologizes to Sam, and the two make amends. The history teacher, Ms. Dawson, takes out old frustrations by singling Cassie out, lying, and changing test scores to undermine her academic career. Morgan joins the experimental film club to please her boyfriend Eli, but after he pressures her to choose between the film club and her other friends, she quits the club. Ms. Dawson befriends and manipulates Jenna to alienate her from the other girls, then tries to use her as a weapon against the other girls. Cassie, Diana, and Morgan are suspended, supposedly for cheating in history and skipping Spanish, as the vice-principal, Mr. Lane, believes Ms. Dawson, who is manipulating him romantically. Cassie and Diana rekindle their friendship through their efforts to reveal Ms. Dawson's unethical behavior. Morgan has an older sister named Jasmine who had been a classmate of Ms. Dawson. Jasmine helps Cassie and Diana discover and reveal Ms. Dawson's real identity and dishonesty, and Mr. Lane finally believes the girls and has Ms. Dawson removed. In the end of season 3 Sam and cassie were seen holding hands and appeared to share a kiss in the end. After this Cassie hints that they might be more than friends.They kiss and realise they are meant for each other.
Season 4
There is a new counselor, Mr. James. Magic moves is closed down, and there is a new boy at Millwood. Jenna immediately falls for him but he seems as if to be playing games with Jenna and Diana. Sam goes away leaving a note saying he was going to go to the conservatory, but actually was not accepted.
Season 5
This is the final season of the show. Portia, Marley, and Jerry are introduced this season.
Cast
- Mackenzie Ziegler as Cassandra "Cassie" Gordon, a shy girl bullied by her former friends. She is passionate about astronomy and dreams to be an astronaut.
- Lauren Orlando as Kate Parker, a new student drawn to witchcraft.
- Emily Skinner as Diana, one of the most popular girls in school.
- Nadia Turner as Jenna Waterson, Diana's friend.
- Devenity Perkins as Morgan, Diana's friend.
- Johnny Orlando as Sam Parker, Kate's brother and aspiring musician.
- Darius Marcell as Spencer, founder of the book club.
- Mike Lane as Mr. Lane
- Bryce Xavier as Scott (seasons 2–3), class president.
- Isaak Presley as Axel (seasons 4-5)
Recurring
- Lilia Buckingham as Autumn Miller (seasons 1–3)
- Dominic Kline as Brayden (seasons 1–2), Diana's boyfriend and Cassie's crush.
- Samuel Parker as Eli (seasons 1–4)
- Grant Knoche as Jules (season 1)
- Paityn Hart as Georgia (seasons 1-2)
- Logan Pepper as Luca (seasons 2–3)
- Steffan Argus as Julian (seasons 2–3)
- Heather Woodward as Felicity (seasons 2–3)
- Lisa Maley as Ms. Dawson (season 3)
- Paul Arnold as Junior Chambers (seasons 4-5)
- Lisette Alexis as Belle (season 4)
- Will Simmons as Marley (season 5)
- Sage Rosen as Jerry (season 5)
- Sawyer Fuller as Portia (season 5)
- Michelle Bernard as Randi Roach (season 5)
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 10 | April 5, 2018 | June 7, 2018 | ||
| 2 | 11 | September 6, 2018 | November 22, 2018 | ||
| 3 | 10 | March 21, 2019 | May 23, 2019 | ||
| 4 | 10 | September 5, 2019 | November 7, 2019 | ||
| 5 | 8 | July 16, 2020 | September 3, 2020 | ||
Season 1 (2018)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Moonrise" | April 5, 2018 |
| 2 | 2 | "New Moon" | April 12, 2018 |
| 3 | 3 | "Waxing Crescent" | April 19, 2018 |
| 4 | 4 | "First Quarter" | April 26, 2018 |
| 5 | 5 | "Waxing Gibbous" | May 3, 2018 |
| 6 | 6 | "Full Moon" | May 10, 2018 |
| 7 | 7 | "Waning Gibbous" | May 17, 2018 |
| 8 | 8 | "Last Quarter" | May 24, 2018 |
| 9 | 9 | "Waning Crescent" | May 31, 2018 |
| 10 | 10 | "Moonset" | June 7, 2018 |
Season 2 (2018)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Thangs" | September 6, 2018 | |
| Mr. Lane assigns Cassie dance as her extracurricular to get her out of her comfort zone. Diana decides that she is going to date Scott, who has returned from the summer looking better than ever. When Kate realizes Brayden doesn't know that they are broken up, she must take matters into her own hands. | ||||
| 12 | 2 | "Solar Eclipse" | September 13, 2018 | |
| Secrets are revealed when Sam invites Cassie over to watch the eclipse together. Meanwhile, with Diana and Morgan being kicked off the cheerleading squad, they are forced to find new extra-curriculars. | ||||
| 13 | 3 | "The Princess Needs A Prince" | September 20, 2018 | |
| Diana focuses her campaign on an old flame. At the same time, Jenna helps Scott with his campaign and Morgan starts doing the morning announcements with Eli. | ||||
| 14 | 4 | "Meet Cameron" | September 27, 2018 | |
| Diana tries to sway the class election. Eli invents a way for him and Morgan to learn about the latest gossip in school. | ||||
| 15 | 5 | "Happy Birthday" | October 4, 2018 | |
| Cassie gets a surprise birthday gift when Sam fails to be a good boyfriend on her special day. Meanwhile, Diana faces the consequences of framing Scott. | ||||
| 16 | 6 | "A Pretender to the Throne" | October 18, 2018 | |
| Jenna attends a banquet with Scott and Diana. | ||||
| 17 | 7 | "Optional Compliment" | October 25, 2018 | |
| Cassie finds flaws in her relationship with Sam and makes her choice. Diana tries to befriend Morgan again, but it comes at the cost of Morgan's newfound friendship with Eli. | ||||
| 18 | 8 | "Coffeeshopwork" | November 1, 2018 | |
| Kate tries to pull away from Luca. Cassie must deal with a new dynamic after Diana joins Magic Moves. | ||||
| 19 | 9 | "New Partners" | November 8, 2018 | |
| Cassie finds out about Jenna's problem with shoplifting. Cassie and Julian work to define their relationship and Diana becomes Julian's new dance partner. | ||||
| 20 | 10 | "Blackmail" | November 15, 2018 | |
| Kate is accused of stealing and is fired from her job. Jenna is blackmailed about the shoplifting, and Cassie takes the blame to save her. | ||||
| 21 | 11 | "Find Your Voice" | November 22, 2018 | |
| The night of the Winter Formal, Diana shows up with an unexpected date, Morgan re-evaluates her feelings for Eli. | ||||
Season 3 (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 1 | "Millwood Chronicles" | March 21, 2019 | |
| Cassie, Diana, and Kate find themselves at the end of their fantasies, as Jenna's childhood superhero fantasies return. | ||||
| 23 | 2 | "Learning to Fly" | March 28, 2019 | |
| Cassie discovers an unexpected enemy at school. Gretchen asks Kate to befriend Luca. Diana deals with her problems with Julian. | ||||
| 24 | 3 | "Experimental Film Club" | April 4, 2019 | |
| Cassie is convinced that Ms. Dawson is out to get her while Kate helps Morgan impress Eli's experimental film club with a film of her own. | ||||
| 25 | 4 | "Watch Your Back" | April 11, 2019 | |
| Jenna falls under Ms. Dawson's threatening influence, just as she faces growing issues with Scott. Kate and Luca begin to bond with each other. | ||||
| 26 | 5 | "X-Ray Eyes" | April 19, 2019 | |
| Sam and Luca work on a song together. Jenna receives advice from Ms. Dawson about her relationship with Scott. | ||||
| 27 | 6 | "Thin Ice" | April 25, 2019 | |
| Cassie and Diana try to save Jenna from Ms. Dawson's grasp. Sam confronts Luca about his relationship with Kate. | ||||
| 28 | 7 | "Teacher Knows Best" | May 2, 2019 | |
| Despite Spencer's warnings, Jenna gets ever closer to Ms. Dawson. Meanwhile, Eli gives Morgan an ultimatum. | ||||
| 29 | 8 | "Bad Spell" | May 9, 2019 | |
| Kate deals with her Aunt Bonnie's passing. | ||||
| 30 | 9 | "We Could Be Heroes" | May 16, 2019 | |
| Cassie and Diana work as a team to uncover Miss Dawson's past. | ||||
| 31 | 10 | "Hanging Up The Cape" | May 23, 2019 | |
| Sam confronts Luca about the stolen song. Morgan, Cassie, and the girls band together for releasing Jenna from Ms. Dawson's evil grasp. | ||||
Season 4 (2019)
Axel and Belle are introduced this season.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 1 | "Future Self" | September 5, 2019 | |
| Morgan always fantasized about her life as a grown-up, but, with another semester under everyone's belt, that fantasy is quickly proving to be much more challenging than anyone could have anticipated. | ||||
| 33 | 2 | "Brownie Points" | September 12, 2019 | |
| Jenna obsesses over Axel, but he has other plans | ||||
| 34 | 3 | "One Turkey Sandwich" | September 19, 2019 | |
| Kate continues to reel from the brownie fallout, and Sam decides to explore other opportunities for his future beyond high school. | ||||
| 35 | 4 | "Breakout" | September 26, 2019 | |
| Jenna continues to vie for Axel's attention, but his roving eye has all the girls at Millwood questioning his intentions. | ||||
| 36 | 5 | "Ditch Day" | October 3, 2019 | |
| Diana ditches school. | ||||
| 37 | 6 | "Bonding" | October 10, 2019 | |
| Kate invites the girls over for her birthday party. | ||||
| 38 | 7 | "Lights Out" | October 17, 2019 | |
| A power outage brings some issues to the light. | ||||
| 39 | 8 | "Millwood Casanova" | October 24, 2019 | |
| Sam gets the opportunity of a lifetime. | ||||
| 40 | 9 | "Sam’s Jam" | October 31, 2019 | |
| Diana, Cassie, and Jenna seek the truth about Axel's true intentions. | ||||
| 41 | 10 | "Come With Me" | November 7, 2019 | |
| Diana, Kate, and Jenna get some interesting news on Axel. | ||||
Season 5 (2020)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 1 | "Written In The Stars" | July 16, 2020 | |
| Cassie and her friends are facing new jobs, new hobbies, and new romances while they prepare for whatever the future holds. | ||||
| 43 | 2 | "Rocky Start" | July 23, 2020 | |
| Cassie gets an unwelcome coworker at the Parlor, while Sam and Diana butt heads in summer school. | ||||
| 44 | 3 | "Rock Stars" | July 30, 2020 | |
| Jenna and Diana face up to problems in their past. | ||||
| 45 | 4 | "Cold War" | August 6, 2020 | |
| Tensions run high between Junior's Juice and the Parlor, with Cassie stuck in the middle. | ||||
| 46 | 5 | "Life Gives You Lemons" | August 13, 2020 | |
| Cassie sees a new side of Axel, while Jenna entertains an old possibility. | ||||
| 47 | 6 | "Rock and Roll" | August 20, 2020 | |
| Kate hatches a plan to save Junior's Juice, while Sam makes a difficult choice. | ||||
| 48 | 7 | "Junior’s Juice" | August 27, 2020 | |
| The girls work together to make the grand opening of Junior's Juice a success. | ||||
| 49 | 8 | "Shoot For The Moon" | September 3, 2020 | |
| As the summer winds down, everyone looks towards the future. | ||||
Production
On March 12, 2018, Brat announced the series.[1] Production for season 1 took place in Los Angeles that month. The show premiered on April 5, 2018. A second season of the series premiered on September 6, 2018.[2][5] The third season of the series premiered on March 21, 2019.[6] Forbes reported that Total Eclipse and another Brat show, Chicken Girls, helped the network accumulate a "loyal audience" of 15 million unique viewers in three months that "the company is beginning to monetize by moving into advertising in 2019".[7]
In 2018, Brat released a special YouTube movie titled Brat Holiday Spectacular co-starring Ziegler as Cassie, Skinner as Diana, and other characters from Total Eclipse, that has been viewed more than 7 million times as of Feburary 1, 2021.[8]
Reception
Forbes reported that Total Eclipse and Brat's most popular show, Chicken Girls, helped the network accumulate a "loyal audience" of 15 million unique viewers in three months that "the company is beginning to monetize by moving into advertising in 2019".[9]
| Season | Number of views
(first episode) |
Number of views
(last episode) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7,526,777 | 5,984,648 |
| 2 | 3,972,214 | 2,503,617 |
| 3 | 3,028,022 | 2,093,569 |
| 4 | 2,415,733 | 1,690,988 |
| 5 | 1,794,375 | 830,377 |
References
- Holloway, Daniel (March 12, 2018). "Digital Network Brat Orders Series Total Eclipse With Mackenzie Ziegler, Lauren Orlando". Variety. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- "Brat Unveils Fall Slate Featuring More Chicken Girls, Competition Series 'Talent Show' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- Jagota, Vrinda. "Mackenzie Ziegler Wants You to Be Unapologetically Positive", Paper, May 7, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2019
- Faughnder, Ryan. "Chicken Girls maker Brat raises $30 million to produce online shows for teens", Los Angeles Times, July 18, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2019
- Brat. "Total Eclipse – Season 2 – Ep. 1: "Thangs"". Retrieved February 10, 2019 – via YouTube.
- Hipes, Patrick (December 7, 2018). "Brat Expands Slate With New Original Series, Renewals for Winter Launch". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- Robehmed, Natalie. "Poised to Monetize, Digital Studio Brat Seeks Ad Dollars In Teens", Forbes, December 12, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2019
- Weiss, Geoff. "Fresh Off Highly-Viewed Holiday Film, Tween Studio ‘Brat’ Unveils Latest Series", Tubefilter, January 3, 2019; and Brat "Brat Holiday Spectacular", YouTube, December 21, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2019
- Robehmed, Natalie (December 12, 2018). "Poised to Monetize, Digital Studio Brat Seeks Ad Dollars In Teens". Forbes. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
External links
- Total Eclipse at IMDb
- Season 1 playlist on Brat's YouTube channel
- Season 2 playlist on Brat's YouTube channel
- Season 3 playlist on Brat's YouTube channel
- Season 4 playlist on Brat's YouTube channel