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As a twenty-something-year-old who resides in a metropolis close to Austin, Netflix’s latest actuality tv collection Twentysomethings: Austin appeared as if it was made only for me. Thus, it begged to be watched.
Frankly, I wasn’t certain what to anticipate from this sort of present initially. Conceptually, the present mirrors that of the Actual World whereby younger (most of the time) single adults dwell in a home collectively and, naturally, inevitably, drama ensues. Nonetheless, Twentysomething subverts the expectation that implies these contestants merely got here on the present for petty drama.
I’ve to say when the primary season concluded, I used to be pleasantly shocked. The collection not solely has stable manufacturing high quality, likable characters with intriguing narratives, and is a superb portrayal of Austin; extra importantly, Twentysomethings is an sincere exploration of younger maturity by the lens of various identities.
Over the course of 12 episodes, the Netflix collection options 9 folks. Nonetheless, our beginning forged consists of 4 males and 4 ladies who’ve moved to Austin, Texas in hopes of reaching various life alternatives not accessible to them of their hometowns.
And who’re these characters you ask? Properly, there’s a boutique proprietor and California native Isha Punja; aspiring comic from Los Angeles Michael Fractor; aspiring mannequin from North Carolina Kamari Bonds; Keauno (Keke) Perez from Stephenville, Texas; Florida native Raquel (Roxy) Daniels; Abbey Humphreys from Houston, Texas; Miami native Natalie Cabo; and Bruce Stephenson from South Carolina.
As talked about, every forged member moved to Austin for their very own goal, whether or not it revolved round their profession, their romantic or sexual life, discovering one’s ardour, or self-discovery. One facet, particularly, price appreciating about Twentysomethings is every housemate’s journey in the direction of their respective targets is completely different and infrequently nonlinear. Moreover, their achievements and failures all through the present are distinctive to their lives and experiences so far.
For instance, in some instances, the housemates’ journeys rely on how the world has perceived them and subsequently stifled them due to sure marginalizations surrounding their id. All of which has naturally affected how these castmates understand themselves and the place they acknowledge and search room for themselves to develop unbiased of society’s expectations.
This is the place the present really shines and provides a feat its actuality TV friends don’t: the storylines on Twentysomething reach mirroring actual life.
For me, the collection’ stand-out narratives have been Keauno, Natalie, Abbey, and Isha. Keauno is a younger homosexual man from a city in Texas the place being an overtly homosexual man isn’t a viable choice. This has not solely stifled Keauno’s courting life however has had a unfavorable impression on his total sense of self.
In his transfer to Austin, Keauno needs to rectify the romance division of his life (or lack thereof) and at last, overtly embrace his queerness. Over the course of the season, we witness him start courting and exploring the queer neighborhood in Austin in addition to expertise loss and acquire honest friendships together with his housemates.
By the collection’ finish, Keauno might not have discovered the sort of relationship he was on the lookout for in Austin however he discovered himself. Equally, Abbey is a bisexual lady, lately divorced, and has come to Austin looking for to discover her sexuality, personhood, and independence with a determined detachment from males’s consideration and approval.
Nonetheless, her progress towards this objective is sluggish to start as she initially has job alternatives fall by and even discovered herself falling again into poisonous patterns with male contestants on the present. It’s not till a friendship she’s made in the home is risked by Abbey’s want for male consideration that she realizes how vital it’s for her to alter this habits going ahead.
Finally, it’s tales like Abbey’s and Keauno’s, Natalie’s—a younger lady who’s moved to Austin to launch herself from the molds of her conventional Latinx household and Isha’s—a South Asian lady who desires her small enterprise to lastly succeed that make Twentysomethings significant and well-rounded.
And although watching Keauno endure rejection for the primary time or Abbey nearly lose her preliminary goal on the present was upsetting, it was admittedly refreshing to see these younger adults fighting or in numerous features of their lives. As a result of that’s actuality. Taking two losses for each win is life for therefore many individuals, particularly while you’re younger.
Ebony Purks is a graduate scholar on the College of Incarnate Phrase working towards getting her Grasp’s diploma in communications. She can be a contract author, curious about writing about popular culture, social justice, and well being; particularly inspecting the numerous intersections between these topics.
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