O Lago

Not sure why there are so many negative reviews but I guess haters gonna hate. This series is a witty, light hearted summer tale of a gay dad and the daughter he gave up for adoption They find conflict with the dad's stepsister when he discovers she inherited the family cottage from his father. The schemes to get back his inheritance are silly but fun. The acting is good, the interaction between cast works. It's not Emmy winning material, fellow reviewers, but it's still good. The lead actor holds his own, and Julia Stiles delivers as always. Highly recommend for ....... lite summer viewing.

So many shows these days mistake rapid-fire dialogue for wittiness. It is an attempt to make the character sound quick and with it, but it frequently makes them have dialogue that sounds forced and pathetically unfunny. That is the case here. The first of a few flaws. The quality shows have characters that speak with natural rhythm. The development and interaction flows evenly and the humor is naturally funny. The characters in The Lake come out of the starting gate trying to entertain the audience by forcing the issue. There is also a believability factor missing here. The relationships just don't feel real or believable.

It's apparent, that this series WANTS to be the next Canadian "Schitt's Creek." But, NO. Awkward. Poor writing. Performances are so-so. Jordan Gavaris is grating. Julia Stiles is slumming. I've binged this thing, on a Saturday night. Eight episodes. Honestly, I'm likely stopping halfway through the final episode. THAT'S how MUCH I don't care. Not interested in the conclusion.

A lot of content that kids don't need to hear or see.. me as an adult likes the show! Lots of F bombs and verbal descriptions of heterosexual and homosexual situations.

I thought they stopped writing bad sitcoms like this in the 1980s, but here we are. It's a sitcom, so you expect the over-the-top plots and ridiculous behavior, but what you don't want it tired repetitive jokes. That is just lazy, low bar writing, which this has plenty of. For example they play the 'I'm her father - I mean birth father!' joke at least half a dozen times in the first episode alone. Then the lead, Justin, has a crush and makes a sexual innuendo joke 'by mistake' at every meeting, greeting, goodbye, etc. It's just such lazy writing you could make a drinking game out of it.

The location is lovely. I've never had a summer house to go to, but in the movies it is always like this, so it is a nice fantasy to live. The characters are kind of entertaining, the premise of the adopted daughter having to get to know her birth father is a great one to have fun with - but 2 episodes in - and they haven't begun to mine it for all the humor it could have.

Again, it just comes down to poor writing. Had promise, but fails.