Animation
Good Times
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
Summer is what you might call a “problem child.” That is, the New Yorker does what she wants, and she doesn’t really care how it might affect others.
That mentality ends up getting her kicked out of private school—for the second time. And with her mother just about to head over to the Middle East for work and no other decent private school willing to accept her, Summer’s only other option is to live with the Gibsons—family friends from Shorehaven, Victoria, Australia—who Summer hasn’t seen since she was little and hardly remembers.
But Summer loves her New York City lifestyle, even if others describe the place as nothing but “cold” and “concrete.” She’s not exactly thrilled about being uprooted to live with people she considers strangers. What makes it worse is Shorehaven’s obsession with surfing: It’s like the only thing the people do around there!
Ari Gibson, on the contrary, loves surfing. And he’s just about to get back into it after a year of recovering in the hospital from a horrific surfing injury—even though his parents would like to see him ease back into the sport more slowly. As Summer discovers, a lot of social issues have arisen from Ari’s injury, and there’s tension between him and his friends as a result. And Ari hasn’t revealed to anyone the trauma he still struggles with as a result of his near-death experience.
But Down Under has a way of winning one over. Though Summer’s personality is much more similar to winter, she cannot help but come to begin enjoying her time in Australia. And with time, she’ll help Ari to not only process the things he’s feeling but also communicate them to others.
When you find out that Surviving Summer’s central character is named Summer, you have to wonder why the title implies that everyone else must survive encounters with her.
It won’t take long for viewers before they understand.
Summer’s cold and selfish attitude often contrasts with the friendlier demeanors of her Australian acquaintances. She schemes and plots for her own benefit, and she doesn’t really care how her actions might affect others. To Summer, her personal happiness is the most important thing to her.
That’s not to say that everyone else is exactly a walk in the park either. The friends Summer makes in Shorehaven have their own issues and tensions; they’re just a bit more…subtle about it, opting to remain friendly on the surface while ignoring the deep-rooted issues below. And though her personality isn’t one we can commend, it is Summer’s upfront and abrasive attitude that’ll be the catalyst to this friend group learning about, and fixing, these issues.
Most tragic of these problems are Ari’s personal struggles. But he refuses to tell anyone about the problems he’s faced after the accident. What if his parents don’t let him surf anymore when they find out? Ari’s also upset his friends never visited him in the hospital after the accident, and he’s even more frustrated that his best friend began dating his crush while he was recovering.
But Ari’s a good kid. He does everything by the book, and though that means that he’s a respectable young man, it’s also made him afraid to reveal his flaws to people.
And as Ari learns to communicate his struggles, we get to see a supportive group of friends and family who grow in compassion and forgiveness toward one another—despite their issues.
We’ll also see the near-death experience that Ari went through, and we’ll be forced to groan through Summer’s selfish personality for much of the season. And, of course, because the central action in the series is focused on surfing, we’ll frequently see men and women in swimwear.
But overall, Surviving Summer finds its best qualities in both Ari’s character growth as well as the positive relationships depicted amid some serious traumas and relational issues. And that might be more than enough for parents to be able to truly survive Summer.
After Summer’s kicked out of her second private school, Summer’s mother sends her to Australia to live with a family friend while she works in the Middle East.
Summer and friends break into a pool. Summer throws a pile of clothes out the window onto passersby below. Summer insults her Australian host family behind their backs, and she uses her mother’s credit card without permission to book a flight back to New York.
Men and women are seen in tight or somewhat revealing swimwear. A boy and girl kiss.
“Crap” is heard once. We also hear various mild insults, such as “loser” and “garbage.”
Though Summer prepares for her unauthorized back to New York, a friend in need forces Summer to make a split-second decision. Ari struggles to return to surfing.
Avi’s teammate Marlon pulls on Avi’s leg strap to cheat in a surfing competition. Avi and Marlon fight, pushing one another to the ground. A surfer intentionally runs over Summer’s skateboard, causing Summer to retaliate by running over the surfer’s surfboard.
God’s name is misused once.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
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