4/5 Stars

One of the benefits of Netflix is that certain projects that would never see the light of day are given chances to be seen. This is certainly the case when, last year, a series starring a diverse cast of southern Los Angeles misfits took the scene to little fanfare. Many were worried the cliffhanger ending would be another cut to black, but this seemed to be a good move, as now, it is drawing more attention than ever for “On My Block,” while hitting a niche of storytelling for a small underrepresented brand. Think, “What if ‘Drake and Josh’ took place in Detroit?”

Sometimes, the show will even feel eerily similar to other school sitcoms aimed at children, to the point where it feels like Devon Werkheiser is going to save the day with a helpful middle school survival guide tip. The obvious Seinfeld-esque humor is commonly brutally shattered when the show wants to ramp up tension. However, while most cynics would never think a TV show of that level would kill kids, considering just the amount of projects that have been doing it recently, the main four teens very rarely feel genuine consequences outside of bratty gossip. During the season finale, the stakes were raised, but in between, audiences can put their feet up for the most part. 

Thankfully, after the gangbuster first season finale, the show is able to stick to its guns. While things still hold that air of plucky Seinfeld “everything will be OK” sentiment, this new season does seem a bit more bleak, especially when it starts tinkering with post-traumatic stress disorder and homelessness. This helps make the tonal divide even greater when Jamal (Brett Grey) strides onto screen with some nonsense quip. 

Of course there are problems. Since the show revolves around 14- to 15-year-old actors, the performances can be off sometimes. There is also the age-old problem of writers trying to adapt modern children slang into the script in that sometimes it works, and most of the time, it does not. It feels somewhat like another Netflix original, “Big Mouth,” with its odd sexualization of its underage characters, specifically Monse (Sierra Capri), but with the clear distinction that viewers are meant to hate it here, while “Big Mouth” wishes people to accept it. Still, those who find that type of dialogue uncomfortable will probably do their best to avoid this show. 

Despite the tone issues and poor acting, there really is not a whole lot to hold against “On My Block.” The episodes are in bite-sized 25-minute shots and are fairly easy to keep up with, despite the story having a lot of moving parts. Each character has a driving motivation that pushes them to interact with one another while never losing track of the main force against them, which is and always will be the city, a bleak reality lived out by people from those areas. 

It has the potential to be an igniting force to make shows like this more common but seems to be stuck to conventions from another genre that holds it back. Hopefully, Netflix is willing to keep it going so audiences can get exposed to more content like this.

Image from Netflix via YouTube