The life-or-death stakes feel very real in the opulent-but-rundown private school environment of the underground institution known as King’s Dominion. Marcus is recruited because of a murderous reputation he doesn’t necessarily deserve, and he’s not a legacy student from a criminal family like most of the other kids. His outsider status doesn’t make him the awed, grateful student that Harry Potter was upon admission to Hogwarts but rather a suspicious, cynical enrollee who simply has nowhere else to go. The fact that he is immediately embroiled in school drama comes across as inexorable and inescapable rather than as an angsty obstacle to overcome.

But despite the fact that Deadly Class will eventually have Syfy’s popular fantasy, The Magicians, as its lead-in on Wednesday nights, the two shows do not share the same brooding tone. Since this show takes place in 1987 (this writer was a sophomore in high school then, so plenty of feels there), let’s put it this way: the kids of Brakebills are like the progressives (a term that was replaced by “goths” in contemporary times), full of tragic self-doubt and indulgent ennui, whereas the students at King’s Dominion are full-on punk, with all of the angry righteousness and bluster that entails.

Ironically, Marcus hangs out with both goths and punks as the series begins and is evaluated derisively by several gangs, but with class assignments ranging from the poison arts taught by Henry Rollins to AP Black Arts taught by Benedict Wong, the deadly purpose of the school becomes the great equalizer, and as it turns out, Marcus has a knack. He may not be “the boy who lived,” but he’s certainly “the boy with nothing to lose,” which actually may serve him better in this game of survival. The fact that Deadly Class is able to establish this core theme in its opening episode is pretty damn impressive.

More: Deadly Class TV Pilot Released Early by Syfy

Further evaluation of this promising start to a unique series will have to wait for a more spoilery review after the Deadly Class premiere, but everything points to another success for Syfy in their high school and college age target audience. The 80s setting will also appeal to the middle-aged geek set since the original writer of the comic, Rick Remender, who is of that era, is not only in the writer’s room; he’s also co-showrunning his creation with Mick Betancourt of Chicago Fire and Miles Orion Feldsott, who helped adapt the comic.