Ma vie avec les Walter Boys

After reading the book, I was waiting to see the series. Nikki Rodriguez as Jackie is probably an okay choice, but not with Noah. He is supposed to be 17/18, not 25. He looks way too old to be in high school and Nikki looks 16, I don't think they have chemistry at all. She doesn't have any sparks with Alex either.

Will is supposed to be I think 21. Here he looks like 30, and his fiance looks old to be 21 too.

Okay, after finishing the whole thing, most of the actors were a miscast, they just don't go well with each other. I kept thinking "was she a diversity cast, was he a diversity cast?" Actors make or break a story and it feels like with different people this series would/could have been more enjoyable and believable.

This was basically a hate watch for most of the viewing experience, but by the end I was all in for a second season. So despite the people who made this making some the wackiest decisions ever, I applaud them for subverting my expectations for the main characters by the end, and making me feel invested.

Casting - completely nonsensical. Siblings that look wildly different, some look the same age as their mother, totally unexplained how a woman can have 9 kids and also 2 university degrees whilst looking 40, we were laughing about it throughout the whole show because it was so ridiculous! Like fully thought they would all turn out to be adopted as the big twist, it was so bad!

Story - could not care less about most of the secondary characters but quite liked a few of them. Most of the side plots felt like wasted time, and there were too many (and some of the acting was pretty flat). The main romantic story was full of toxic tropes but actually redeemed itself a bit - my initial "nice guy" I genuinely hated by the end, and the "bad guy" who I hated at the start I really came to feel for by the end. Like obviously a classic trope but it got me! Main character was fairly bland but likeable enough.

Elephant in the room - The main thing that bothered me throughout is that a teenage girl who's been though a really traumatic event is put into this chaotic environment and pursued by what are essentially like her brothers in this situation - I wish the family had actually looked after her (instead of just saying they did) because in real life this would be a worrying situation for a young vulnerable girl. But, it's just a story and in the end she does sort of save herself.

So, I would recommend this show only if you have a buddy to watch with, because there will be parts where you will be ripping your hair out and need someone to laugh about it with. It's totally ridiculous, but pretty entertaining.

So, i watch quite a lot of shows and mostly crime thrillers so dramas like this don't usually appeal to me. However I enjoyed this i loved the concept of a big family, the farm nice sceneries, the brothers and the sisters. This is so much better than the summer i turned pretty and honestly deserves a watch. Team Cole all the way. Love the dynamics of all the characters and chemistry between them too. I also like the adult relationships and there characters as well. Looking forward to S2 hopefully it is a bit more spicy and hope they don't take ages releasing it or are too slow with carrying on some story lines.

I wasn't expecting much more than light fare at first, but apart from the obvious tropes and cliches, was impressed by how many marks the episodes hit, with various storylines and characters.

Jackie (Nikki Rodriguez) and Cole (Noah LaLonde) especially the latter, gave excellent performances with real emotional nuances that made the unlikely pairing and romantic tension believable.

The show touches on other themes of mental health, loneliness, friendship, navigating queer romance, native American perspectives, persons with not so obvious disabilities (deafness and epilepsy); girl empowerment and teen self-esteem. I think it's all well done and very relevant. I can't wait for Season 2!

The first episode doesn't seem to be part of the same series. I had a hard time enjoying it. But it wasn't horrible, so I kept going. I was surprised to find that the characters made an impression on me. I got attached to each of them and can't wait to see what happens next. It's for teenagers, sure, but the parents are incredible. We don't see a lot of money problems in Netflix series like this so a little realism was appreciated. I liked the diversity, which for once was fair and not forced. I became attached to this family. Overall, I had a good time. I cried and laughed. I don't expect more!