Andrew Robinson
Musical-lovers, take note!
I watch a lot of different television shows, whether it be on broadcast TV (not as many), cable TV (much more prominent), on streaming outlets (ditto). For that reason, I have to be very picky about what new shows I am willing to pick up – I am a college student, after all, and an avid Philadelphia sports fan, so my time is very limited between doing work, going to class, and watching sports; there simply isn’t much time to catch up on my shows. “Rise,” however, caught my interest. I’m glad I decided to give NBC’s freshman drama a chance. *As always, minor spoilers may follow
Summary
Given that this review is on the pilot episode, I will give a quick synopsis of the show itself.
A financially-struggling small town that is football-crazed becomes interconnected in several ways not because of football, but because of the drama department, which is headed by passionate English teacher Lou Mazzuchelli (How I Met Your Mother’s Josh Radnor). When Lou decides to present the mature (to put it mildly) musical “Spring Awakening” and looks to cast a star football player, however, both he and the musical itself face extreme backlash.
Analysis
Two things initially peaked my interest in Rise: my love of musicals, and the fact that Josh Radnor is starring. I haven’t seen Radnor in anything besides his How I Met Your Mother run, and wanted to check out another one of his works. When I found out that Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) created the show, I became even more excited.
One of my biggest pet peeves when watching high school-based dramas is when the “kids” appear to be at least 25 and, when I look up the actors’ ages, they are (surprise, surprise) around 25! I understand that it’s easier to film certain scenes with older, more experienced actors, but it can be very distracting watching a show about a “high schooler” when the actor/actress hasn’t been in high school for almost a decade. While Rise is not perfect in this regard – of the actors that I found their ages, not many were aged appropriately – at least it casts actors that don’t look like they are married with kids. Most of its “child” cast can pass for high-schoolers, and that allows me to watch the show without being quite as distracted.
Radnor does a wonderful job as Lou in the pilot episode. He brings groundedness, and his level-headedness allows the show to feel real, like it could happen at any high school across the country. It is nice to see his face again, after his long run in HIMYM ended in 2014. I was worried that I may only be able to see Ted (his character from HIMYM) when looking at him, as this often happens with actors who spend almost a decade with a single show, but Radnor brings the character of Lou to life, and transforms himself into a high school drama/English teacher.
In a show that utilizes young actors’ singing voices, the voices must be, well, pleasant to listen to in order for the show to truly succeed. Rise casts Auli’i Cravalho (Moana from Moana) as Lilette Suarez, one of its leads, in an effort to accomplish this. The move is a bit dangerous, as Cravalho had never acted in any non-animated work before Rise, but she does a good job as Lilette – I honestly couldn’t have told you that she was a newcomer to acting – and her voice is magnificent. Many of the other young actors/actresses, including Damon J. Gillespie (Robbie Thorne), Ellie Desautels (Michael Hallowell), and Ted Sutherland (Simon Saunders) also boast great signing voices. I, and certainly many others, would have had to ditch the show had its young talent been lacking in the singing department, but they bring it home, and make the show a near-necessity for lovers of musicals.
Some of the action in the pilot episode can come off as a bit outlandish, but I am willing to give the show a pass on that – they simply want to show who the bullies of the show will be. As long as each episode doesn’t contain this surprising, no-way-that-would-happen scenes, I will be content.
It is clear that the show is created by Katims, as the camerawork is very Friday Night Lights-esque, and it has the same small-town, everyone-knows-everyone feel to it that Friday Night Lights had, not to mention the fact that football seems to be playing a major role in the events of Rise. For these reasons, I would liken Rise to Friday Night Lights rather than Ryan Murphy’s Glee, despite the show focusing on a high school drama department.
Rise also deals with teenage issues that many face, including discovering sexuality and identity, as well as dealing with real-life issues, including absent (or neglectful) parents, high (borderline unattainable) expectations, and the aforementioned bullies – adults and kids, alike. I think Rise will be a very powerful show for many people, and I hope that it is discovered by enough viewers to warrant a season two!
Verdict
Rise starts out hot with its pilot episode on Tuesday night. The cast seems to have a lot of chemistry, which is a must given the fact that the bulk of the show seems to be about a drama department putting on a musical. Radnor brings life to the character of Lou, and engages the viewer in his struggles, triumphs, and everyday activities. The young cast boasts many actors who have very good singing voices, and chronicles their lives and struggles appropriately.
I believe Rise is a great family show (12+, maybe?) that can be enjoyed by many, whether musicals are their thing, or not. I am excited to see where the show goes from here.
9/10
