Everything Sucks first impression: This Netflix series may not be massively entertaining but promises a lot more

First few episodes in, the writing seems terribly inane and the dialogues appear too scripted, definitely not something that teenagers would say in real life. In an almost prophetic moment, Luke himself says, “I am just an adult stuck in a teenager’s body.”

Emaline and Oliver in a still from Everything Sucks!

The show’s only saving grace appears to be its lead cast — Jahi Winston and Peyton Kennedy who are able to hold your attention as Luke O’Neil and Kate Messner. Rio Mangini as McQuaid is good in bits and parts but mostly comes across as too one-dimensional, similarly with Quinn Liebling who plays Tyler. Sydney Sweeney and Elijah Stevenson are even less engaging as the cool theatre kids Emaline and Oliver, mostly because they remain stoic projections of their stereotyped characters.

The love story of Kate and Luke’s parents is also given a surprising amount of attention, considering this is a teenage drama on the surface. But that becomes particularly easy to overlook considering Ken (Patch Darragh) and Sherry’s (Claudine Mboligikpelani Nako) infectious performance at hand.

Luke and Kate in a still from Everything Sucks!

It is true that Everything Sucks! takes its own time in finding its sweet spot. Talking about what really takes Everything Sucks! from being okay to good, it is the way the series attempts to look at the relationship between Kate and Luke. While Luke is going to somewhat aggressive lengths to win Kate’s love, she is busy exploring her own sexuality. The coming-of-age story takes a serious coming-out-of-the-closet turn and considering it is set two decades earlier, one can imagine how difficult it must be for Kate to handle all the pressure.

Everything Sucks! also becomes somewhat self-aware about the cliched nerds-pursues-pretty-girl narrative by the fifth episode or so when a frustrated Kate voices out how boys like Luke don’t really care about the girl they are dating till the point that there is a girl they are dating. And at some level, we also understand why Luke feels he can still keep up with dating Kate despite the fact that she blurts out that she is lesbian when she is supposed to lean in for a kiss. By this time, the character arc of Emaline also finds a definite space as she begins to look at Kate a little ‘differently.’

Looking back at the series, it also seems like this disarming the viewers with a number of tropes in the beginning and then gradually unveiling the show’s sagacity has become an intentional thing with Netflix, be it in Stranger Things, The End of The F***ing World or Altered Carbon more recently. Which is why it is a little difficult to stick by the first few episodes of Everything Sucks! and wait for its novelty to unfold.

I have seen five episodes of Everything Sucks! and while it may initially miss the mark, it does leave us on a promising note that much more is about to happen.