I Saw the TV Glow

I Saw the TV Glow

Credits
Title:	I Saw the TV Glow
Directed by:	Jane Schoenbrun
Written by:	Jane Schoenbrun
Produced by:	Taylor Shung; Kevin Kelly; Emma Stone; Dave McCary; Sam Intili; Ali Herting; Sarah Winshall; Jennifer DiLullo
Music by:	Alex G
Cinematography:	Eric Yue
Edited by:	Sofi Marshall
Production
Production:	A24 Fruit Tree Smudge Films Access Entertainment Hypnic Jerk Productions
Distributors:	A24
Released:	January 18th, 2024
Rating:	PG-13
Running time:	100 min.
Country:	USA
Language:	English
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I Saw the TV Glow is an American feature film of the psychological thriller and LGBTQ-related subgenres of horror. It was written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun. It was presented by A24 and produced by Fruit Tree, Smudge Films, and Hypnic Jerk Productions in association with Access Entertainment. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18th, 2024. It was screened at South by Southwest on March 10th, 2024. It opened to limited theatrical release in the U.S. on May 3rd and opened nationwide in the U.S. and Canada on May 17th, 2024. The movie stars Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine as Owen and Maddy - two teenagers who engage in a journey of sexual awakening and friendship as they bond over their shared appreciation for a popular fantasy TV show called The Pink Opaque. Time and reality begin to collide as Owen and Maddy find themselves transposing upon the lives of the two female protagonists of the TV series, Isabel and Tara.

Plot[]

Cast[]

Actor

Role

Justice Smith

Owen

Brigette Lundy-Paine

Maddy

Ian Foreman

Young Owen

Helena Howard

Isabel

Lindsey Jordan

Tara

Danielle Deadwyler

Brenda

Fred Durst

Frank

Conner O'Malley

Dave

Emma Portner

Mister Melancholy/Amanda

Polo

Johnny Link's mom

Mister Sprinkly

Neighbor #1

Neighbor #2

Lance

Tyler Dean Flores

Cade

Elizabeth Scopel

Drive-thru kid

Marilyn Bandiero

Brenda's friend

Haley Dahl

Sloppy Jane band member

Raina Block

Sloppy Jane band member

Bailey Wollowitz

Sloppy Jane band member

Lily Rothman

Sloppy Jane band member

Phoebe Bridgers

Kris Esfandiari

King Woman band member

Wilson Flores

King Woman band member

Thommy Northcut

King Woman band member

Julie Lodhy

King Woman band member

Notes & Trivia[]

There are a total of twenty-seven credited cast members in this film.
Principal shooting on I Saw the TV Glow began in July, 2022 and completed in August.
I Saw the TV Glow was filmed in various parts of New Jersey including Asbury Park, East Hanover, Verona and Wayne. ^[1]
I Saw the TV Glow was released on Blu-ray by A24, and also as part of the A24 Shop Exclusive DigiPack on July 30th, 2024. ^[2]
On IMDB, I Saw the TV Glow has a unweighted mean Starmeter score of 5.8 out of 10 based on more than 27,000 user votes (US). 8% of the voting pool gave the film a perfect score of 10, while 9.4% gave the film a 1.
On the movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, I Saw the TV Glow has a certified fresh Tomatometer score of 88% amongst the site's top critics, and 84% amongst all critics. The movie has 186 positive reviews and 36 negative reviews, averaging 7.60 out of 10. It has a Popcornmeter score of 71% based on more than 100 verified user ratings and 48% amongst the entire audience.
On Letterboxd, I Saw the TV Glow has a weighted average review score of 3.53 out of 5 based on 422,456 user votes.
On The Movie Database (TMDB), I Saw the TV Glow has a user score rating of 60% based on 324 ratings.
The fictional The Pink Opaque television program draws inspiration from the popular 1990s cult TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Actress Amber Benson, who plays Johnny Link's mother in this film, also had a regular role on Buffy as lesbian neophyte witch Tara Maclay. The character of Tara from The Pink Opaque is named after her. The font style used in The Pink Opaque is similar to the one used on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Another iconic '90s program that inspired The Pink Opaque is The Adventures of Pete & Pete. The stars of that show, Michael C. Maronna and Danny Tamberelli makes cameo appearances in this film as Owen's neighbors.
Another TV series that The Pink Opaque draws inspiration from is The Secret World of Alex Mack.
Actor Fred Durst, who portrays Owen's father is best known for being the front man for the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, who came to prominence in the late 1990s with the hit "Nookie".
Indie folk singer Phoebe Bridgers makes an appearance in the film as herself.
Actress Emma Portner plays four different characters in this film as well as The Pink Opaque; all of whom are antagonistic in some way.
This film is co-produced by Dave McCarey, who directed the movie Brigsby Bear. That film was also about a character's obsession with a TV show that featured a moon-faced villain.
Although they were portraying teenagers, actor Justice Smith was 28 when he filmed I Saw the TV Glow and Brigette Lundy-Paine was 29. We refer to this type of age variance as "90210 Syndrome".
This movie was released nationwide on the same day that The Strangers: Chapter 1 was released in the United States.
I Saw the TV Glow was named #7 on Bloody Disgusting's Top 15 Best Horror Movies of 2024.