If you have the opportunity to see I Saw the TV Glow in a theater, do so. It’s one of the most original, thought provoking, and The Adventures of Pete & Pete-referencing films you’ll see all year. Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair), I Saw the TV Glow stars Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine as a pair of high school outcasts who bond over a cult TV show. It’s also an exploration of trans identity (with a killer soundtrack).
I Saw the TV Glow is out in limited theaters now before going wide on May 17, but if you’re waiting to watch at home, it’ll be a bit. It took about four months for The Iron Claw, another A24 title, to make it from the theater to Max (it debuts on May 10), so I Saw the TV Glow could follow the same schedule. If so, that would place it on streaming around September or October.
Here’s the official plot synopsis:
Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.
You can watch the trailer below.