It's been a while since Glee, eh? The long-running, uber-popular a capella singing show was a cultural phenomenon, and I think it's fair to say that nothing has really filled the musical-drama void that it left behind when it finally ended. I'm not sure it's an exact fit, but Prime Video might have just unveiled a show that could scratch the same itch, though.
The Runarounds comes from the creator of Outer Banks, and tells the story of a high school band as it tries to transition from a fun hobby to a serious musical outfit – with all of the growing pains and tough moments that'll bring along. The show drops on 1 September on Prime Video, but the first full trailer gives a great sense of what to expect from it.
Graduating from high school can feel like a cliff-edge at the best of times, but when you're weighing up a future as a band, that precipice might be all the more scary-looking, and it seems like The Runarounds will go into detail on that point. Crucially, though, it's also demonstrably going to have a whole bunch of rousing music throughout its episodes.
Many of those will doubtless be original songs, though, rather than covers like Glee's – another stark difference between the two franchises. Where Glee was also more of a story-of-the-week show, this seems to be traditional in its structure, telling one story over the course of it season. Still, while I'm listing reasons they're different, I'm convinced there'll be overlap in the sorts of viewers who like them both.
Of course, this sort of story is set up perfectly for some summer flings and star-crossed romances, as even people outside the band itself decide whether they want to throw their lot in with the ardent rockers who are going to flip the bird at going to college. Big calls await them all, and the show looks really cute and heartfelt.
If it sounds like it's up your street, get primed for early September, when you'll be able to check it out on Prime Video for yourself.
