From Stranger Things to Orange is the New Black, Netflix has been on it’s A-game when it comes to original TV shows. Next up on the list of hits is Everything Sucks!. This coming of age comedy is set in 1996 in Boring, Oregon, which is 100% a real place. Viewers are constantly reminded how the town lives up to its name and how difficult it is for the characters to find themselves in a town like Boring.
The 10-episode series follows Boring High Schools A/V club as they navigate through their early years of high school and avoid the snares and insults of the upperclassmen filled Drama Club. Freshmen Luke (Jahi Di’Allo Winston), McQuaid (Rio Mangini) and Tyler (Quinn Liebling) join the A/V club eager to immerse themselves in high school life and attempt to avoid any confrontation with the cool kids or the opposite sex. This becomes hard for them once Luke accidentally asks out the principal's daughter, Kate (Peyton Kennedy).
The series heavily features 90’s nostalgia, resembling Freaks and Geeks and Stranger Things. The throwbacks include Oasis, Tori Amos and even the impending Star Wars prequels. Like Freaks and Geeks, the series focuses on two groups of weirdos and deals with issues like family problems and coming to terms with your sexuality.
Jahi Di’Allo Winston’s stand out performance definitely drives the series, whether he’s the dorky kid cracking bad jokes or the pissed off director yelling at his classmates, who are also actors of the school movie. The fact that the cast is made up of teenagers who look like actual high school students is what really makes this show work, unlike TV shows like Riverdale or Teen Wolf in which almost every cast member is a 20 year old beefcake.
The series also tends to put its characters in unrealistic, sitcom-like situations that don’t make too much sense. Including a goofy, fun-loving high school principal sharing a blunt with a parent in the school’s parking lot. The underdeveloped supporting characters are truly the most frustrating thing about Everything Sucks!. From the Drama Club king Oliver, to the hilariously adorable and slightly irritating Leslie, I would’ve love to see more of them and how their stories might unfold. Perfect? Not by a long shot. But even with its flaws, Everything Sucks! is worth the watch and proves with each episode that it, and life, gets better.
The 10-episode series follows Boring High Schools A/V club as they navigate through their early years of high school and avoid the snares and insults of the upperclassmen filled Drama Club. Freshmen Luke (Jahi Di’Allo Winston), McQuaid (Rio Mangini) and Tyler (Quinn Liebling) join the A/V club eager to immerse themselves in high school life and attempt to avoid any confrontation with the cool kids or the opposite sex. This becomes hard for them once Luke accidentally asks out the principal's daughter, Kate (Peyton Kennedy).
The series heavily features 90’s nostalgia, resembling Freaks and Geeks and Stranger Things. The throwbacks include Oasis, Tori Amos and even the impending Star Wars prequels. Like Freaks and Geeks, the series focuses on two groups of weirdos and deals with issues like family problems and coming to terms with your sexuality.
Jahi Di’Allo Winston’s stand out performance definitely drives the series, whether he’s the dorky kid cracking bad jokes or the pissed off director yelling at his classmates, who are also actors of the school movie. The fact that the cast is made up of teenagers who look like actual high school students is what really makes this show work, unlike TV shows like Riverdale or Teen Wolf in which almost every cast member is a 20 year old beefcake.
The series also tends to put its characters in unrealistic, sitcom-like situations that don’t make too much sense. Including a goofy, fun-loving high school principal sharing a blunt with a parent in the school’s parking lot. The underdeveloped supporting characters are truly the most frustrating thing about Everything Sucks!. From the Drama Club king Oliver, to the hilariously adorable and slightly irritating Leslie, I would’ve love to see more of them and how their stories might unfold. Perfect? Not by a long shot. But even with its flaws, Everything Sucks! is worth the watch and proves with each episode that it, and life, gets better.