Recovery Road follows Maddie Graham (Jessica Sula), a 17 year old party girl in California. Maddie is found to have alcohol on school premises one day after having got home from a party in the early morning, having blacked out and lost her car during the night. Her high school guidance councillor, Cynthia (Alexis Carra) informs Maddie and her mother, Charlotte (Sharon Leal) that she will have to go to rehab or be expelled from school. Maddie concedes and starts her new life in a live-in sober living house for adults, while still going to school during the day and trying to keep this a secret from her friends and boyfriend, Zach (Keither Powers).
The other residents at Summer Meadows rehab are diverse in theirs characters and their sobriety journeys. We soon find out that Maddie's ex-best friend with whom she used to do drugs, Rebecca (Lindsay Pearce) is also a resident and the two must learn to live with each other. Maddie is reluctant to fully dive into her recovery journey - still processing the whole situation - but becomes romantically interested in Wes (Sebastian De Souza) another of the residents, who has been told by Summer Meadows councillor, Craig (David Witts) that he cannot risk his sobriety with a relationship.
The series was very addictive (pun intended) and the storylines were all very intriguing. However, it did require a good amount of suspension of belief and here I will detail the qualms I had with the show. {spoilers} Maddie realised she was probably raped in the first episode and then nothing happens with this storyline which was so unbelievable. This is a life-altering event for anyone and it isn't really something you would think about once and then forget, unless Maddie is incredibly good at supressing things. She only mentions it again in passing to Wes in the final episode.
Speaking of Maddie and Wes, Maddie is a minor, she is 17, in high school, and Wes is a grown up adult man, and no one seems to bat an eyelid at this. Charlotte's "only" concern was that he used to be an addict. Craig's only concern was that it would jeopardise Wes's focus on his recovery. It beggars belief that no one would be questioning what Wes sees in a 17 year old child.
Maddie and Cynthia's dedication to their significant others also is questionable. Neither of them seem particularly phased that they are contemplating cheating on their partners. {/spoilers} It is also particularly strange that Maddie's boyfriend (as well as the rest of her friendship group) is not overly worried about her not being able to attend *any* social outings without giving any good reason as to why she can't come. And the fact that it takes them all *that* long to bother finding out what is going on with her is also questionable.
My other peeve is with Craig, the 25 year old councillor who is apparently the head care provider in the rehab is also pretty questionable. Unfortunately I also found some of Witts' acting to be quite flat at times compared to the other actors'. {spoilers} I also had a hard time believing that he would say to a patient, "Why would you intentionally hurt yourself." when it is discovered they are self-harming. As a trained professional, surely he would know the rationale behind self harm. {/spoilers}
Despite these main issues I took with the story, I thought the show was inspiring and quite moving. It really made me reflect on the importance of honesty and letting people in - especially those closest to you who you know will support you {spoilers} (which Maddie's friends did an atrocious job of demonstrating) {/spoilers}. It clear this show was axed abruptly as there were too many loose plot threads at the end of the first season to not have an ending for, which is unfortunate. But, overall, an enjoyable watching experience.
The other residents at Summer Meadows rehab are diverse in theirs characters and their sobriety journeys. We soon find out that Maddie's ex-best friend with whom she used to do drugs, Rebecca (Lindsay Pearce) is also a resident and the two must learn to live with each other. Maddie is reluctant to fully dive into her recovery journey - still processing the whole situation - but becomes romantically interested in Wes (Sebastian De Souza) another of the residents, who has been told by Summer Meadows councillor, Craig (David Witts) that he cannot risk his sobriety with a relationship.
The series was very addictive (pun intended) and the storylines were all very intriguing. However, it did require a good amount of suspension of belief and here I will detail the qualms I had with the show. {spoilers} Maddie realised she was probably raped in the first episode and then nothing happens with this storyline which was so unbelievable. This is a life-altering event for anyone and it isn't really something you would think about once and then forget, unless Maddie is incredibly good at supressing things. She only mentions it again in passing to Wes in the final episode.
Speaking of Maddie and Wes, Maddie is a minor, she is 17, in high school, and Wes is a grown up adult man, and no one seems to bat an eyelid at this. Charlotte's "only" concern was that he used to be an addict. Craig's only concern was that it would jeopardise Wes's focus on his recovery. It beggars belief that no one would be questioning what Wes sees in a 17 year old child.
Maddie and Cynthia's dedication to their significant others also is questionable. Neither of them seem particularly phased that they are contemplating cheating on their partners. {/spoilers} It is also particularly strange that Maddie's boyfriend (as well as the rest of her friendship group) is not overly worried about her not being able to attend *any* social outings without giving any good reason as to why she can't come. And the fact that it takes them all *that* long to bother finding out what is going on with her is also questionable.
My other peeve is with Craig, the 25 year old councillor who is apparently the head care provider in the rehab is also pretty questionable. Unfortunately I also found some of Witts' acting to be quite flat at times compared to the other actors'. {spoilers} I also had a hard time believing that he would say to a patient, "Why would you intentionally hurt yourself." when it is discovered they are self-harming. As a trained professional, surely he would know the rationale behind self harm. {/spoilers}
Despite these main issues I took with the story, I thought the show was inspiring and quite moving. It really made me reflect on the importance of honesty and letting people in - especially those closest to you who you know will support you {spoilers} (which Maddie's friends did an atrocious job of demonstrating) {/spoilers}. It clear this show was axed abruptly as there were too many loose plot threads at the end of the first season to not have an ending for, which is unfortunate. But, overall, an enjoyable watching experience.