Girl crushes, Catholic guilt and a terrifying school dance initiation? Netflix’s new teen horror series The Body is mixing supernatural chaos with a complicated sapphic love story — and its leading stars are opening up about bringing that queer romance to life.
If you love a little horror with your queer romance, Netflix might have your next binge-watch sorted!
The Body, a new eight-part series from creator Quinn Shephard, follows a group of Catholic high school dancers whose lives spiral into chaos after an initiation ritual goes horribly wrong.
Set in 2004, the series combines supernatural visions, teenage secrets and religious guilt with a complicated relationship between two girls who are discovering that their friendship might be something much more.
At the centre of the story are dance team co-captains Anya Butler, played by Kristina Bogic, and Elise Zakaria, played by Sara Boustany.
And while the girls have plenty of supernatural drama to deal with, their growing feelings for one another might be the most emotionally complicated part of the story.
Best Friends, Secret Feelings And A Whole Lot Of Catholic Guilt
Anya and Elise are the popular girls of their Catholic high school’s dance team, confident in front of their classmates and used to being in control.
But beneath their picture-perfect appearances, things are considerably more complicated.
Anya is deeply concerned about her reputation and what others might think if she acknowledges her feelings for Elise.
Elise, meanwhile, is far more comfortable with the possibility that their relationship goes beyond friendship.
Speaking to Teen Vogue, Bogic and Boustany explained how their characters approach their attraction from very different perspectives.
Bogic believes Anya’s religious upbringing plays a major role in her fear of confronting her sexuality.
For Anya, acknowledging her feelings would mean confronting the possibility that her desires conflict with everything she has been taught about faith, identity and morality.
Elise sees things differently.
Boustany describes her character as someone who has a stronger sense of herself and would potentially accept keeping their relationship private, provided Anya could acknowledge their feelings to one another.
It’s a familiar tension for many LGBTQ+ viewers: one person ready to embrace what they’re feeling, while the other is still struggling to accept it.
And with a supernatural mystery unfolding around them, their relationship is anything but straightforward.
A Dance Team Initiation That Goes Terribly Wrong
Of course, The Body isn’t just a queer coming-of-age romance.
The horror begins when new recruit Grace Franklin, played by Sofia Wylie, becomes the focus of a Halloween initiation ritual.
What should have been another outrageous high school tradition quickly spirals into something much darker.
The girls begin experiencing disturbing visions, and suspicion spreads throughout their small town as questions grow about what happened to Grace.
As the situation becomes increasingly frightening, friendships fracture and secrets threaten to emerge.
For Anya and Elise, the growing mystery adds even more pressure to a relationship already complicated by unspoken feelings.
The result is a combination of teen drama, supernatural horror and sapphic longing, with early-2000s nostalgia woven throughout.
The Actresses Helped Shape Their Characters’ Love Story
In their interview with Teen Vogue, Bogic and Boustany revealed that they were closely involved in developing the relationship between their characters.
Interestingly, Boustany originally auditioned to play Anya.
However, during the casting process, she was asked to read for Elise instead.
After performing the same scene from Elise’s perspective, Boustany realised the role was a much better fit.
Bogic, meanwhile, wanted to bring more warmth and vulnerability to Anya.
The creative team had initially imagined the character as a cooler, more composed popular girl.
But Bogic wanted audiences to understand the insecurity and fear beneath Anya’s confident exterior.
The two actresses also spent time discussing their characters’ motivations, sometimes passionately disagreeing about how Anya and Elise should respond to one another.
Those conversations helped them understand the emotional complexities of the relationship without reducing either character to a simple stereotype.
Intimacy, Trust And Creating A Safe Set
With the relationship between Anya and Elise becoming increasingly intimate throughout the series, both actresses emphasised the importance of feeling comfortable and supported on set.
They worked with intimacy coordinator Chala Hunter to establish clear boundaries and carefully choreograph scenes involving physical intimacy.
Boustany explained that the coordinator regularly checked in to ensure both performers were comfortable with what was being filmed.
Bogic also praised the supportive environment created by the production’s largely female creative team.
For both actresses, having clear communication and trust made it easier to explore their characters’ vulnerability and attraction.
Their experiences highlight the role intimacy coordination can play in helping performers portray relationships safely and authentically.
Even The Soundtrack Has A Queer Love Story
Music also plays a major role in The Body, and the actresses contributed ideas to the show’s soundtrack.
One particularly emotional sequence features Anya and Elise performing a dance duet to Jeff Buckley’s Lover, You Should’ve Come Over.
Boustany created a specially edited two-minute version of the song, which she and Bogic pitched to the creative team.
The suggestion was accepted, and acclaimed choreographer Ryan Heffington created the dance sequence.
For a series about dancers struggling to communicate their feelings, the performance provides another way for the characters to express emotions they cannot easily put into words.
The sequence also reflects the show’s wider exploration of the relationship between physical expression, identity and desire.
A Queer Coming-Of-Age Story With A Horror Twist
While supernatural mysteries drive much of The Body’s plot, the relationship between Anya and Elise gives the series another emotional dimension.
Their story explores first love, internalised shame, religious expectations and the fear of losing an important friendship.
These themes have particular resonance for LGBTQ+ people who grew up in environments where being open about their sexuality could feel difficult or unsafe.
The show’s 2004 setting adds another layer, reflecting a time when queer teenage relationships were less visible in mainstream television and popular culture.
Rather than presenting Anya and Elise as having identical experiences, The Body allows them to approach their feelings from different perspectives.
One is ready to acknowledge what’s happening.
The other is still learning how to accept it.
And somewhere in between, they’ve got a supernatural nightmare to survive.
Where To Watch The Body In New Zealand
Good news for Kiwi horror fans!
All eight episodes of The Body are now streaming on Netflix in Aotearoa New Zealand, following the series’ release on 11 November 2026.
The series features Kristina Bogic, Sara Boustany, Sofia Wylie, Geena Meszaros, Shirley Chen and Jackson Kelly, alongside a wider ensemble cast.
Created by Quinn Shephard, the show brings together teenage romance, mystery, Catholic-school drama and supernatural horror.
And for viewers who love their queer television with emotional tension, a little nostalgia and plenty of unsettling twists, this one might be worth adding to the watchlist.
Because falling for your best friend is complicated enough — without having to worry about what you might have accidentally summoned during dance practice!
