Killjoys: Complete Seasons 1-5 (TV series review).
The Reclamation Apprehension Coalition, or RAC, whose members are better known as the Killjoys, are teams of bounty hunters who pick up contracts for wanted felons throughout the Quad, a star system containing four habitable planets and their moons. They’re rather like the bounty hunters we have today, except they work for a licensed organisation under strict contracts and are expected to bring their targets in alive.
We follow a team led by Dutchess, better known as Dutch, or Yalena Yardeen (actress Hannah John-Kamen), alongside Johnny Jaqobis (actor Aaron Ashmore) and, more recently, Johnny’s brother D’avin Jaqobis (actor Luke Macfarlane). They travel aboard Lucy, a sentient spacecraft with an AI personality voiced by Tamsen McDonough.
Running beneath the bounty-hunting assignments are several continuing storylines. Dutch herself was trained by Khlyen Kin Rit (actor Rob Stewart) as an assassin before breaking free of his control. He regularly reappears with new missions for her and is eventually revealed to belong to Level Six within the RAC, having been transformed into one of the green-blooded beings that are extraordinarily difficult to kill. Their agenda gradually becomes clearer as the series progresses. Later seasons also reveal that Dutch has a sister, Aneela Kin Rit (also played by Hannah John-Kamen), who received the same training but has become even more dangerous.
The overarching story across all five seasons follows the hunt for the green-blooded Level Six beings, later known as the Hullen, who can only be killed by destroying the brain. They gradually emerge as a serious threat to humanity with plans of their own. There is also the unsettling matter of parasitic creatures capable of burrowing beneath a person’s skull and taking control. Chief among these is The Lady (actress Alanna Bale), who happily abandons one body for another whenever necessary. When you notice that all the episode titles, listed on the box set although not shown on screen, are playful puns, the underlying theme becomes clear enough: hunt the Lady.
Zeph Vos (actress Kelly McCormack) is an absolute scene-stealer, frequently out-nerding even Johnny’s considerable technical expertise. Then again, this is an excellent Canadian cast full of surprisingly well-developed characters. People who initially appear to be supporting players often become central to later stories, such as bar owner Pree (actor Thom Allison), a former warlord, or Fancy Lee (actor Sean Baek), another Killjoy who usually prefers to work alone. Garrow (actor Patrick Garrow), the Killjoys’ supervisor, is equally memorable. There are so many good performances across the five seasons that it’s difficult to keep track of everyone, let alone remember who survives. I wasn’t deliberately leaving anyone out. It simply took quite a while wandering through IMDb to remind myself who played whom.
At the end of season four, a cure for a devastating pandemic has the unfortunate side effect of wiping people’s memories. By the time season five begins, the inhabitants of Westerley are living entirely different lives, as though someone has rewritten reality around them. Whenever cracks begin to appear and someone realises that their new life isn’t genuine, they are drawn back under the influence of those manipulating events. Zeph is among the first to realise that something is badly wrong, but only when Dutch regains her memories under unusual circumstances can she begin gathering her scattered team together to fight back.
One small irritation is the soundtrack, which occasionally becomes too intrusive and competes with the dialogue. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it can be distracting.
Series creator Michelle Lovretta deserves a great deal of credit for constructing a universe that steadily grows in scope without losing sight of its characters. Although Killjoys never received the same level of attention as some bigger-budget American science fiction series, it quietly built a loyal following thanks to its blend of action, humour and surprisingly emotional character relationships.
For a wholly Canadian production, this really deserves your attention if you’ve never come across it before. The complete box set is well worth picking up. Crime is rife throughout the Quad, even among the wealthy ruling families, and events are constantly moving forward. The twists are rarely predictable and, just when you think you’ve worked out where the story is heading, another surprise appears. It’s also extremely violent, although rarely gratuitously so. Most importantly, it’s one of those series that genuinely makes you want to stay with the characters right through to the final episode.
GF Willmetts
June 2026
(pub: Universal, 2025. 10 Blu-ray discs. 2,198 minutes. 50 × 45-minute episodes. Price: varies. ASIN: 612309361)
