Based on the first five episodes, I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I’m looking forward to Good Trouble. If you haven’t already watched it online, give it a chance.
When The Fosters ended, Tracy and I were relieved. The show wasn’t one of our favourites, and it constantly confounded me as to how they could have so many excellent actors and such a blah show. At the end, I chalked it up to me not liking Brandon as a character, and the show being one of the remnants of ABC’s Family Channel lineup. But whatever the show was over! We were free!
Then they announced Good Trouble, a spin-off with Callie and Mariana.
After The Fosters‘ finale, I decided that the real problem had to be that the show didn’t fit in the the ‘A little forward’ motto of Freeform. I was hopeful that they’d address some of those issues with Good Trouble, but let’s be honest. I didn’t think they would. Still, when the screener landed in my lap, I sat down
Is It Worth The Trouble?
I’m calling it a tentative yes.
The episode starts with Mariana Instagramming while driving, and making a questionable freeway choice on the drive to LA. The episode jumps back and forth in time a little, with the girls dealing with the results of a bad choice (note: watch where you park, folks), and making more and more bad decisions down the line.
It’s got a totally different vibe than it’s parent show, and the girls are fish out of water. Mariana has to deal with the old-boys network in tech, Callie is the state college grad amongst the Ivy League, and their apartment is a commune. It’s a mess, everything that could go wrong does, and they handle it about as well as you’d expect.
As for the queer? Well, speaking of those parents, they phone it in. Literally. They’re not on camera, nor do we hear their voices. That said, one of their fellow residents at the Coterie is a lesbian, and another is bisexual.
Based on the pilot, it’s got a good vibe and seems a lot less saccharine and boring than The Fosters was. Good Trouble premieres tonight, and you can catch a sneak peak already.
Give Good Trouble a chance tonight on Freeform. It’s a little forward.
Screener Review On Good Trouble
It’s possible the show is just better for being sans-Brandon, but it’s a more adult, and more realistic, experience of young adults making terrible choices. Plus? We’ve got a lesbian regular.
