That ’90s Show Part 3 is finally all out, but there’s no word yet on if it will be renewed. The teen comedy, created by Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, and Mark Brazill features an ensemble of quirky teens navigating life in the ’90s. While waiting for more That ’90s Show, fans should check out another great teen show on Netflix, also set in the ’90s. Everything Sucks!, created by Ben York Jones and Michael Mohan, also features a hilarious group of memorable characters. This short-lived TV show had only one season in 2018. While it received critical praise, especially for the performances by its young actors, including Sydney Sweeney, Everything Sucks! never found a large audience. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth the binge.
Everything Sucks follows Luke O’Neil (Jahi Di’Allo Winston), a freshman in the A/V Club. Like Leia Forman (Callie Haverda) on That ’90s Show, Luke is on the nerdy side and starts the series eager to win over a cooler crowd. At the beginning of the series, Luke already has two best friends, Tyler Bowen (Quinn Liebling) and McQuaid (Rio Mangini). But, now that they’ve entered high school, Luke wants to branch out and expand their friend group. Luke has the idea for the A/V Club to work with the drama club to make a movie, creating a clash of different personalities which makes for a fun ensemble.
‘Everything Sucks!’ Breaks the Rules of High School Cliques
Everything Sucks! portrays teens from different social circles who come together through extracurricular activities. Luke and his friends are nerds, but their expertise in film allows them to expand their social circle. When the A/V Club decides to make a movie, the nerdy boys start to spend time around Emaline Addario (Sweeney) and Oliver Schermerhorn (Elijah Stevenson), the beautiful upperclassmen who rule the drama club.
The project leads to a friendship between Oliver and McQuaid, despite how much cooler Oliver seems on the surface. It also brings Emaline closer to Kate Messner (Peyton Kennedy), a nerdy girl in the A/V Club. Emaline and Kate have a will-they-won’t-they throughout the show. In the episode “Cheesecake to a Fat Man,” the audience sees the A/V Club and the drama club put aside their differences when Oliver, Emaline, and Tyler experiment with drugs together. The mixing of personalities is a lot of fun, and it’s well-observed how Everything Sucks! captures that the drama club freaks seem very cool within the nerdiest subset of high schoolers.
‘Everything Sucks!’ Is Infused with ’90s Pop Culture
Everything Sucks!takes advantage of the ’90s setting through characters who truly love pop culture. In the very first episode, Everything Sucks! Luke tries to impress Kate by recreating the music video for “Wonderwall.” Later, after she comes out to him as a lesbian, he manages to get her to go on another “date” by scoring tickets to see Tori Amos. The characters’ passions for pop culture is a key part of Everything Sucks!. Love for retro culture is ingrained deep in the show, making it a perfect watch for anyone obsessed with the era.
Everything Sucks!doesn’t have the realistic vibe of something like Freaks and Geeks, which incorporates the period piece element in relatively subtle ways. Everything Sucks! take a pop culture junkie approach, exaggerating and stylizing everything for viewers who love a good throwback. Netflix clearly put money into ensuring it has an impressive array of ’90s needle drops. The soundtrack is one of the strongest elements of the show.
‘Everything Sucks!’ Prominently Features a Queer Character
Like That ’90s Show, Everything Sucks! prominently features a queer character at the center of the show. Early in the series, Kate steals a porn magazine from Luke’s garage, and as she looks at the women in the magazine, the audience understands that she’s questioning her sexuality. In a funny scene, her oblivious dad catches her looking at the magazine and starts talking to her about her body image, not once considering that she might be looking at the pictures for a completely unrelated reason.
Kate’s coming out storyline is a highlight of Everything Sucks! and touches on the struggles someone can go through after coming out as a teen. After she comes out, Luke continues to pressure Kate to date, telling her he doesn’t care that she’s a lesbian. Their fight after the Tori Amos concert is hard to watch because it feels so real. The Luke and Kate storyline captures the kind of pressure and insensitivity lesbians can face from teen boys. Fortunately, in this case, Luke does eventually have an epiphany about how self-centered he’s been. With an eye on complicated character development and a comedic take on teen social dynamics, Everything Sucks! is the perfect show to binge while waiting for more of That ’90s Show.
Everything Sucks! is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
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