Netflix’s Reggaeton Series ‘Neon’ Finds Its Rhythm Amid a Glossy Miami Landscape: TV Review
19.10.2023 - 13:07
/ variety.com
Aramide Tinubu Youth bolsters a certain amount of invincibility. For young people, there’s almost an embedded assurance that their dreams are bound to come true. Netflix‘s latest series “Neon,” created by Shea Serrano and Max Searle, follows a trio of best friends in their early 20s who leave their hometown of Ft.
Myers, Florida, for Miami’s lush beaches and glitzy nightlife, determined to make it big. Glossy and fun, the reggaeton-centered “Neon” puts the viewer in the mind of “Rap Sh!t” without the grit framing the Issa Rae-created show. It’s a series about friendship, determination and the perils of the modern-day music industry.
The Gen Z-centered series opens on a highway. Ness (Emma Ferreira), an aspiring talent manager, is speeding along the open Florida road; her besties, up-and-coming reggaeton artist Santi (Tyler Dean Flores), whose new song “Exagaro” has gone viral and Felix (Jordan Mendoza), Santi’s creative director, in tow. After years of dreaming, the threesome has finally secured a lunch meeting with BPM record label executive Mia (Courtney Taylor) and taken the plunge to move to the energetic coastal city.
Despite Ness’ meticulous plans, which include a shiny new apartment, signing a record deal and launching all three of their careers, from the moment they arrive in Miami, things don’t quite go as planned. At every turn, the trio is humbled, dismissed and pushed aside. While some of the storylines in “Neon” lean toward the generic, including an ill-fated performance at a nightclub and Santi’s orchestrated media relationship with a self-absorbed pop star, Isa (Genesis Rodriguez), other plot points steady the flow of the series, keeping the eight-episode first season on beat.