Surviving Summer is a drama series created by Josh Mapleston and Joanna Werner and stars Sky Katz, Kai Lewins and Savannah La Rain, alongside other cast members. The series has 10 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30 minutes.
Netflix describes the series as:
Expelled from school and exiled to Australia, a rebel New York teen makes waves among a young surfer’s inner circle — and leaves a mess in her wake.
– Surviving Summer review does not contain spoilers –
Netflix’s Surviving Summer, simply from the description that it gives us, already seals its fate. It’s like a few other shows on the streaming platform that have the exact same story, maybe with a few changes here and there, and focus on a rebellious teen who just can’t get their lives right and then end up at a place that changes the trajectory of their lives. It’s a tale as old as time, a coming-of-age pit that creators just can’t seem to get out of.
Surviving Summer is about Summer, a teenage girl who is a rebel. She is wild, untamable and has thus been expelled from several schools in New York. Her mother is a hotshot businesswoman who doesn’t know what to do with her daughter. In comes a surprise work tour and Summer is shipped off to Australia for the summer holidays to live with her mother’s friend. There, she meets Ari, a teenage boy with a tragic past. Through surf, sand and sea, and with some new friends, Ari learns the meaning of being free-spirited in Shorehaven.
The story is stale, but honestly, shows like these are more about the execution at this point. Keeping surfing in the background and as a link between everyone and everything, Surviving Summer does its best to humanize our characters and make them relatable. And honestly, it works. The show is extremely watchable and looks stunning. The surf sequences and the competition make for good content that adds to the watchability of the show.
In shows that don’t add anything new to the genre, these are important points. You need to arrest your audience using thrill and excitement around its conflicts. Surviving Summer does that in a nice way, resulting in you being arrested in both Summer and Ari’s lives and arcs. Coming to the characters, Summer isn’t anything new. She’s your usual wild protagonist in need of some direction which her “exile” provides her. But she’s relatable and likeable to a certain degree. Ari, the male lead, is sweet and his background and the way he overcomes his obstacles and trauma is hopeful and might be inspiring to some.
Regardless, however, in the end, Surviving Summer is a mixed bag. It’s entertaining, definitely, but is boring in some parts. Personally, the 10-episode runtime is a bit much for a show like this that is really mostly for young adults with the attention span of a goldfish. It drags on in some places and is generally a been-there-done-that situation. At least Sky Katz and Kai Lewins play their roles with enthusiasm and look great together!
Summing up: Surviving Summer
Surviving Summer is a stale story with a new execution. Parts of its runtime are arresting, hopeful and entertaining while other parts feel bogged down by its repetitive nature. It’s a good show for those who want something fun and hopeful to watch, especially for young adults. But, the series won’t really stay with you after that.
Surviving Summer is streaming on Netflix.
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