The Runarounds, the brainchild of Outer Banks co-creator Jonas Pate, was the highlight of my winter break television-watching. Streaming on Prime Video, the members of a boy band graduate high school, and face the age-old questions of love, their future path, and friendship.
The premise of this show may be giving you déja vu. As Reddit user IDreamof-Heeney commented, “The trailer is the most generic s*** I've ever seen. White kid wants to start a band, he meets a girl, some bad s*** happens but in the end it all works out? Ive [sic] seen the same rubbish 100 times.”
But The Runarounds expertly pulls off its premise. Frontman of the titular band and main character Charlie declined his only college acceptance to pursue music, but he hasn’t told his parents. Throughout the show, Charlie faces the struggles of unrequited love and bringing his band together. The show has no lack of the plot points one can expect from high school drama: romantic troubles, strained friendships, and so forth, but it makes them feel much more real than other shows in the genre. A focus around music gives the show something besides social intrigue for plot material. Set in Wilmington, North Carolina in the months following the characters’ high school graduation, the show is distinctly summery, featuring myriad teenage antics. Overall, a bumpy road to success makes the good moments of the show feel truly earned.
The incredible original soundtrack plays no small part in the show’s success. The 17 pop/indie rock songs have become a regular part of my music consumption. Some of my favorites include “Funny How The Universe Works,” “Minivan,” and “Cellophane.”
The Runarounds is the name of a real-world band, whose five members play characters based off of themselves. According to an interview with Pate published in Metro Philadelphia, the show’s creators “tried to make the characters as close to their actual personalities as we could.” The group members were chosen out of 5,000 auditions for a band in Outer Banks, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The real-life Runarounds are currently on tour, and were musicians before they were actors. William Lipton, who plays Charlie, is the only band member with previous acting experience, having played Cameron Webber on General Hospital. The actors’ authentic love of music makes their characters feel so much more real, and several live shows are some of the most exciting scenes of the eight episodes.
Additionally, The Runarounds imbues its characters with a depth rarely found in this genre of television. The band members each have their own reasons for playing music, their own perspective on Charlie’s rock-star dreams. They seem more real in that they all have individual struggles: Charlie’s house is going into foreclosure, love interest and female lead Sophia’s father is an alcoholic, Princeton-bound lead guitarist Topher’s parents expect far too much from him, and so on. In giving each character a life beyond the main story, The Runarounds helps us sympathize with each protagonist, enhancing the feel-good nature of the show as we celebrate their wins and mourn their losses.
With all of this said, The Runarounds is not the drama of the year. The lines are often corny, and the conflict feels occasionally predictable. But, it’s a really fun watch: visually lovely with an addicting energy. The show doesn’t take itself too seriously, but if you can see past that and watch it for entertainment rather than for artistry, I guarantee you’ll have fun. This is not to say that the problems that face the band all feel trivial; indeed, the trouble is existential in several instances.
The show’s funny moments drive the varied texture that so many similar shows so severely lack. Charlie’s ten-year-old sister Tatum is much too mature for her age, frequently providing comic relief. The show’s moments of comedy and a realistic, varied jumble of plotlines come together to form a colorful story.
If you want a show with loveable characters, immensely positive energy, and a great soundtrack, look no further than The Runarounds.