Scream Stream 2023: The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell

Christine McConnell is an artist and baker who lives in a mansion full of monsters and ghosts and those that society won’t accept.  Her primary companions are Rose (Colleen Smith), a raccoon who was crushed to death in a garbage truck and brought back to life; Rankle (Michael Oosterom), a mummified Egyptian cat who Christine found in an antique store and resurrected; and Edgar (body: Morgana Ignis / voice: Drew Massey), a stray werewolf that Christine takes into her home. Also in the house is Milly, a tentacled creature living in the refrigerator; Bernard (Tim Lagasse), a wise monster in the basement; and Vivienne (Dita Von Teese), a ghost who appears in a mirror and gives fashion advice. This eclectic group helps Christine prepare ghoulish kitchen delights, like candy that looks like spiders and bone shaped cookies. Christine is visited by several guests throughout the series, each with their own unique and often murderous personalities.

This six-episode show was created by the star, Christine McConnell and all episodes were simultaneously released on October 18, 2018, on Netflix. Produced by Netflix, Wilshire Studios and Henson Alternative (a part of The Jim Henson Company), the show is a combination of a DIY cooking series and a scripted reality show with most of the creatures being puppets.  The treats that are concocted are all amazing and well-crafted and the scripted witty dialogue between Rankle and Rose makes the series fun and enjoyable to watch.  Christine is definitely talented in the cooking and baking department and truly an artist in food presentation making everything look amazing and so wonderfully ghoulish and delicious at the same time.  Unfortunately, the show was not picked up for a second season and there are a couple reasons I believe this to be.

There is no denying that Christine is amazing when making tasty treats, but she isn’t quite so good at hosting a show.  Her personality and performance come off as a bit dry and unemotional, with her line delivery feeling disingenuous. For YouTube and Instagram, I am sure she is great, but to carry a whole series, she just doesn’t have the acting ability. And speaking of abilities, much of what she cooks and bakes is way beyond the ability of a normal person, with specialty tools needed to get the same look and many critical steps in how to prepare some of the dishes is skipped or barely hinted at.  So as a DIY cooking show, this really doesn’t cut the cake! It is more of a show to highlight Christine’s talent in food presentation.  But it is a fun series to watch, even with its flaws and the banter between Rose and Rankle is sassy and humorous. And although I don’t think I could ever get my cookies and candies to look as good, it does give the audience some great ideas to make simplified versions of the dishes.  Overall, I am disappointed that the series didn’t continue.