There's nothing like joining the army to give you a baptism of fire – a point that countless classic movies and shows have made over the years, although Netflix's newest addition to the genre might have a slightly different point of view. After a few teasers, we now have a proper trailer for Boots.
The show arrives on the biggest streaming platform in the world on 9 October, and will take a look at what it was like trying to join the marines in 1990 with one huge secret – that you're gay at a time when the US military abundantly doesn't accommodate that (to put it lightly).
The show will follow Cameron Cope (played by Miles Heizer) and his best friend Ray McAffey (Liam Oh) as they graduate high school and try to figure out what they should do with their lives. As the son of a marine, Ray decides that he's going to join the service, and Cameron follows him in the belief that it'll give his life some purpose and direction.
He's not wrong, per se, but the trailer makes it clear that the 1990 boot camp experience is not one to take lightly (and I'm pretty certain it's still brutal today, albeit perhaps a tad more inclusive). It starts with the classic drill sergeant dressing-down and only gets more brutal from there, including the classic scenes of head-shaving, communal showering, obstacle course runs and more.
In fact, since the show is committed to some real accuracy, it also brings up memories of older examples set in the very same place – not least Full Metal Jacket, the first half of which is set at the exact same training camp, right down to the dorm room. I'm hoping Boots isn't nearly as harrowing as that Kubrick classic, but I don't want to make any bets.
The soundtrack and a few jokes in the trailer make me feel like it's going to be a bit safer, but I've no doubt it'll get serious at various points, given the history of "don't ask, don't tell" policies in US institutions historically. It should hopefully be an interesting watch when it arrives in early October.
