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Summer might be over in the reality we’re stuck with, but in another one gaining steam on Amazon Prime, it’s only just starting.
Spearheading the late-onset sunny season is a new teen drama from the creator of the Netflix hit Outer Banks. Centred around a group of recent high school graduates who form a band, The Runarounds enters the ever-growing pantheon of made-for-TV bands behind Daisy Jones and the Six.
The new eight-parter came into being thanks to Netflix’s teenage treasure-hunt series before it, as creator Jonas Pate held an open casting call for a band to appear in the third season of the Madelyn Cline star vehicle – only for The Runarounds to walk into the room,
The group clinched the role as well as their own origin story on another streamer. Amazon Prime’s new teen musical is the finished product.
Set in North Carolina, the drama centres around aspiring musician Charlie Cooper (William Lipton), who’s freshly sprung from his high school and only really has one career option in mind.
With his first taste of adulthood, he decides to shun the regular college pipeline and instead starts to get serious about taking the band’s clean-cut brand of pop-rock to the next level.
With a shot of teen wish fulfilment, The Runarounds start to see some success but only have one summer to sign their coveted record deal before the adults in the background ship them off to do degrees and get proper jobs.
The earnest drama might not have been met with the warmest critical reception – scoring 60% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes – but the TV fans tuning in have been taken with what The Runarounds has to offer.
The drama is already racing up Amazon Prime Video’s ranking of top 10 film and TV shows, with those who have tuned in urging others to ignore the bad reviews.
‘This is a great show! It takes an episode or two to really get rolling and find its legs, wrote Mary Young in her Google review.
‘Don’t give up on it and don’t listen to reviews like the one in Variety that excoriate it. These musicians-turned-actors give a great performance.
‘It’s got everything, drama, humour, twists and turns, love and romance, and great music. It’s a winner!’
The Variety review in question described the show as a ‘dud’, adding: ‘It offers nothing new to the YA genre, and its jumbled nature makes it unlikely that viewers will make it past the pilot, let alone the whole eight episodes of the season.’
Ouch. But onwards. Ben Welch said it was ‘one of the best shows in a while!’
‘Truly captures that young adult “what am I doing with my life… I need this to work out” vibe,’ they wrote
‘Found myself cheering for the band immediately and the conflicts and pay-offs are excellently done. Would highly recommend to anybody.’
The Runarounds is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
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