CASS REVIEWS DRAMAS SHOWS: 21 THUNDER (2017) Sports drama? Sign me up.
Premise: the show focuses on the U21 team of Montréal Thunder (a pro soccer club) and the lives of its players, coaches and staff off the field and how that impacts them on the field.
I like the concept and the acting is great. However, the show tries to be a bit too gritty and genre-inclusive. Junior encountering criminals while searching for his missing brother? Sure. The seedy underbelly of Montréal and gangs and guys in jail as major players? Meh. The show integrated everything really well and drew all the plotlines together in the end (please, learn from this, other shows) but I just didn’t feel any connection (positive or negative) to the gang/jail stuff - it felt like it was just added in for the drama. That said, I really liked the personal shit that everyone else was dealing with - it was challenging and youthful and realistic and I felt like the show hit so many nails right on the head in that way that it almost makes me ignore the crime storylines. The fact that there are so many strong female characters in what seems like a male-dominated story (male team, etc.) is just wonderful, and they’re so diverse in their lives, abilities, and stories. I have to say, Canada does storytelling well.
Final Thoughts: Would 100% watch a S2 as is. Would 1000% watch if the club starts a women’s pro team in S2 and we get to see more than one talented female player all season.
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