Forever

Wow, Netflix put out a beautiful teen drama about teens living and falling in love in Los Angeles, California. I don't see that often on tv shows even for teens. I really loved this story about 2 different teens that work hard to get to where they want to go in life and also their love life. I like that they parents of both teens care and love and communicate with the kids. I have never heard of actor Michael Cooper Jr, before this show. But If Netflix gives this show another season then I hope that he comes back for season 2. Also actress Lovie Simone put out a very beautiful performance I also hope that she will come back for a season 2. I hope we get to see them in college.

At face value, you may consider this yet another stereotypical high school romance flick but I was caught off guard by how very close to reality and far away from a fairytale it was. It had all the emotional roller coaster and the weight of actions and consequences I didn't expect. It felt a lot like realistically taping a romantic affair between any two individuals in high school.

I also want to point out how amazing the representation of the parents was, especially the family dynamics of Dawn (Karen Pitman) and Eric (Wood Harrison), how they as successful parent actually set thier kid up for success by guarding, nurturing and protecting him but still give him grace to find himself, make mistakes and do better. This is something that we don't often see in black storytelling. This is in no way disregarding the struggles of a single mother Shelly played by Xosha Roquemore raising a teenager with a community, trying to make ends meet while protecting her at the same time.

Also shout out to the judicious use of black music to literally interpret ever scene.

Overall it was a very good watch and I absolutely recommend.

As a 20 year old african american man, I felt a deep connection to this show, it definitely made me tear up a lot, we don't get to see much representation of black love these days especially on such a large platform like netflix. Shows like summer i turned pretty and maxton hall did not resonate with me at all. Anyway I enjoyed this show so much I finished it in within 1 day and felt the need to leave a review. Great acting, and the music playlist in this show??? 100/100 all songs i have on my spotify playlists. I went through similar struggles back in high school and I also had to break up due to a long distance relationship and college so this show struck me to the core. I highly recommend you watch this show.

What I like about the show is the topics relating to the current young generation like sextapes, main communication via social media, the family & social pressure, school, friends & foes. Having a 11 year old daughter with a combi of adhd & autism, starting to blossom, being a father is not easy. So, I have to prepare myself. As I am a white male from Europe it is also interesting to watch this show with mainly Afro American settings & persons with everything that comes with it. Although in Europe the black/white topic is not so much an issue as in the USA I loved the show, couldn't stop watching.

I wanted to take my time watching this show because 8 episodes is truly too short but it's TOO good to not binge in one sitting!!!! Lovie Simone & Michael Cooper Jr are SOO amazing in their roles of Keisha and Justin, I was instantly taken back to my first love and heartbreak. Their honesty to each other, their moments of immaturity due to their age but their quick realization that their love was worth it, ugh everything about this show was perfection. I really hope we see more from this series in the future, and more work like this from the amazing Mara Brock Akil !!!!!

This show is powerful on so many levels.