On Sept. 1, Amazon Prime Video released The Runarounds, a new young adult (YA) music drama TV show. From the creator of Outer Banks, Jonas Pate, The Runarounds follows the lives of several recent high school graduates as they try to find success as a rock band the summer after their senior year. Spanning eight episodes, this new series’ spin on coming-of-age summertime nostalgia is equal parts refreshing and angsty. Caution, spoilers ahead…
The Rounarounds ensemble cast of band mates are also musicians outside of the show. Former Bay Area teen William Lipton, who plays the series’ main character Charlie Cooper, and Jeremy Yun, who plays Charlie’s longtime close friend Topher Park, have been playing music together since they were six years old. The rest of the series’ musically talented ensemble cast joined the project in 2021 when show creator Pate started interviewing musicians to see if they would fit with the show’s concept.
The Runarounds band first made it into one of Pate’s projects on Outer Banks season three, where the band plays at a party in one of the episode’s backgrounds. For Pate’s newest project, however, the band is front and center every episode. For indie music fans, the abundance of concert scenes and cuts to the band playing music shouldn’t be an issue, but for viewers who are not drawn to soundtrack-heavy shows, The Runarounds would likely be a skip.
From the very opening scene, the series revolves around the ups and downs of Charlie and his growing affinity for music. In the first episode, the audience learns that Charlie has a deep, unrequited love for a girl who is unaware of his feelings. Because what’s a YA TV show without an unrecruited love story? Charlie tries to win over Sophia, played by Pate’s daughter Lilah Pate, by inviting her to a house party, his band is performing at. However, things quickly go south when drummer Pete (Maximo Salas) gets drunk and ruins the set. Without letting Pete know, Charlie and the rest of his bandmates decide to recruit a new drummer, Bez Willis (Zendé Murdock), and they form a new band, The Runarounds.
The new group consists of Princeton-bound guitarist Topher; carefree guitar player Neil; overconfident but undeniably talented Bez; Wyatt (Jesse Golliher), who was kicked out by his mom and, of course, the yearner himself, Charlie. With their rebranding complete, The Runarounds aim to make a larger impact initially in the local music scene. Then, after playing a few successful sets—and a few arguably unsuccessful ones—they look to make it big.
While most high school bands daydream about becoming rock stars, that goal becomes shockingly attainable for The Runarounds after Sofia begins helping with songwriting, and her good friend Bender (Marley Aliah), an aspiring documentarist, establishes a social media fan base for them.
While much of the series is full of lighthearted banter, laughable rather than swoon-worthy romantic gestures, and fantastical trips to concerts in the group’s beloved minivan, the series also takes the opportunity to dive into the characters’ familial and financial struggles. The episodes take on more complex issues, such as the importance of communication, grappling with sexuality, and issues of addiction and money. These elements give the series an engaging and relatable quality that makes this coming-of-age series worth the watch.
While some of the series’ plot twists are predictable, for example, that buying random gas station drugs may not be the best idea, others are much more shocking and will surely take another season to unpack. With shocking familial revelations still fresh on viewers’ minds, the series ends on a more positive note as Charlie solidifies his romantic relationship with Sophia (spoiler: he said “I love you” first).
For fans of indie music and shows set in North Carolina, such as The Summer I Turned Pretty and Outer Banks, or even oldies like One Tree Hill, The Runarounds is the perfect creative summer series. Characters throughout the series fall in love, get arrested, party, and bond over music. The show offers a relevant, comforting, and cringey take on the chaos and joy that can come from summer months well spent with the people you are closest to, earning The Runarounds four out of five feathers.
