Don't get me wrong, I was super excited and wanted to love the new series. But watching it with family, we were disappointed. The show tries to hard to plug in as many current day references (bitcoin, stimulus checks, woke influencers) yet falls behind with their idea of modern slang, using words like ratchet, bae, and squad goals, words more from 2013.
That aside, we also didn't like how the friends treated each other. All of them went through puberty overnight, and all look glowing except for Lacienega, who is struggling with acne, facial hair and unkept eyebrows. They all make fun of her looks and say she needs to "fix herself" by plucking and waxing, which Michael does for her. I personally think this sends the wrong message even if it's supposed to be a joke. The situation mirrors issues teens already deal with, and reinforce beauty standards.
There were also scenes that were uncomfortable to watch, for example, a rapper called Young Toddler that sings at Penny's school dance- starts twerking while dressed in a diaper. The whole episode was cringey and hard to watch. The second episode wasn't much better, focusing on a beauty influencer. I'm not sure if we will continue to watch the series.
That aside, we also didn't like how the friends treated each other. All of them went through puberty overnight, and all look glowing except for Lacienega, who is struggling with acne, facial hair and unkept eyebrows. They all make fun of her looks and say she needs to "fix herself" by plucking and waxing, which Michael does for her. I personally think this sends the wrong message even if it's supposed to be a joke. The situation mirrors issues teens already deal with, and reinforce beauty standards.
There were also scenes that were uncomfortable to watch, for example, a rapper called Young Toddler that sings at Penny's school dance- starts twerking while dressed in a diaper. The whole episode was cringey and hard to watch. The second episode wasn't much better, focusing on a beauty influencer. I'm not sure if we will continue to watch the series.