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Cruel Summer

 A series I liked in the pandemic was "Cruel Summer."


Prestige TV tends to involve a man warring against a man. This is the template for "Breaking Bad," "Deadwood," "The Americans" (with a slight twist), "Justified," "Bloodline," "Billions," "Succession."

"Damages" had a woman warring against a woman.

"Cruel Summer" strays farther from the template: The two "warriors" are women, but *young* women. They aren't done with high school yet.

Additionally, the particular conflict in "Cruel Summer" is really, really weird. A blonde goes missing for several months; while in captivity, she believes that a local brunette has spotted and ignored her; a PR battle happens when the brunette sues the blonde for having made a false allegation.

Everything can be questioned, as in "Damages": Did anyone actually "see" anyone else? What happened while the blonde was in captivity? Even if the brunette is guilty of nothing illegal, isn't it odd that, during the captivity, she attached herself to the blonde's boyfriend and schoolyard associates?

This is really a show about plot--although there are some smart "character" moments involving a young gay couple and, also, a deteriorating marriage. The writers borrow from George Eliot (with the blonde/brunette trope), from "Cyrano de Bergerac," and from "The Count of Monte Cristo" (with the revenge plot).

All this occurs with a 90s soundtrack: tunes from the Cranberries, from Oasis.

No one walked home with Emmy Awards--but I had a pretty good time.
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