Article first published as RED BAND SOCIETY Review on Seat42F.
RED BAND SOCIETY airs Wednesdays beginning September 17th on FOX.
It’s
not often a broadcast network makes a show that feels totally different
than just about everything else on television. FOX has done that with
RED BAND SOCIETY. The dark dramedy about a group of sick teenagers who
live in a hospital has shades of Degrassi, but the unique setting and
challenges they face puts a different spin on the coming-of-age genre.
Considering that films with similar themes have popped up recently (see:
The Fault in Our Stars), it makes sense to explore these issues in a
longer-run format.
A show such as RED
BAND SOCIETY needs a good group of young actors, and six
mostly-unknowns fit the Breakfast Club-esque bill well. Jordi (Nolan
Sotillo, Prom) is the new kid on the block, forced to room with bad boy
Leo (Charlie Rowe, Pirate Radio). Leo’s best friend is horny Dash (The X
Factor contestant Astro). We’ve got the bitchy cheerleader, Kara (Zoe
Levin, The Way Way Back), and the mousy girl with an eating disorder,
Emma (Ciara Bravo, Big Time Rush). Charlie (Griffin Gluck, Private
Practice) narrates the story from his coma bed, secretly visited by the
father (Thomas Ian Nicholas, American Pie) who isn’t allowed to see him.
The
mix of personalities is pretty good. A lot of boxes are checked, but
the performers are all decent enough to sell the product, other than
Astro, that is, who is nearly as unlikeable here as he was in the
reality show in which he competed. But overall, while somewhat
predictable, the relationships are compelling enough to keep the story
going, as the kids individually pull the viewer’s heartstrings.
Of
course, there are sappy scenes, even in hour one. A particular
heart-to-heart between Jordi and Leo is obviously coming, and RED BAND
SOCIETY delivers on that promise, asking for some pathos at the
conclusion of a bit of fun. In this, it’s emotionally manipulative, but
seemingly not in a malevolent way.
There
is a staff watching over them, of course. Academy Award winner Octavia
Spencer (The Help, Mom) plays the perfect “scary bitch” with a heart of
gold, Nurse Jackson. She is offset by Rebecca Rittenhouse as bumbling,
naïve Brittany. Surely the two of them will grow over time with one
another’s help, much as the kids do. Rounding out the adult contingent
is Dr. Jack McAndrew (Dave Annable, Brothers & Sisters), rocking the
grey hair as he performers his duty with intelligence and compassion.
Maybe
it’s a little simplistic to have such heroic healthcare providers, but
RED BAND SOCIETY is a feel-good drama, and thus, needs characters to
root for. The teens suffer enough from the viruses ravaging their
bodies; they don’t require antagonistic grown-ups bringing them down,
too. Instead, we get as cheery a picture as possible under the
circumstances, which, while perhaps a tad realistic, makes the show
quite watchable.
The wild card for me
in this pilot is Ruben Garcia (Griffin Dunne, House of Lies, Dallas
Buyers Club). Although not a main character, Ruben is the one adult
shown as a patient. One of the kids mentions he’s a rich hypochondriac
who will leave his fortune to the hospital, and we see him helping out
the youngsters with their schemes. Clearly, the writers must put him
here for a reason, so what is it? Will he help someone get through their
emotional struggles, or provide an answer to a problem later on?
I’m
sure RED BAND SOCIETY won’t be the best new series of the fall, but it
is far from the worst, and at least it’s not just copying other series
the way so many do. The message portrayed is one many viewers will
connect to, or at least feel for, and since there’s no other optimistic
drama like this running on the Big Four right now, it may find its
niche. I certainly hope it does.
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