As a non-Latina who is a huge fan of Latin culture, I was hyped when the trailer for Neon dropped. I was thrilled to see that (I thought) this show wouldn't focus so much on the hustle culture that is promoted in other series revolving around the world of hip hop.
Boy, was I wrong. As good as lead actor Tyler Dean Flores is, his character Santi comes across as a completely self-absorbed and immature young man who grows to care more about his fame and how he can use it to gain money and women than his best friends, who he calls his «corrillo», or his clique. The sheer hubris and naivete exhibited by Santi and his friends Ness and Felix is what seems to actually make this funny.
Things only get worse when they encounter Mia, a young woman who presents herself to them as a powerful record executive when she is really the executive's secretary. Believing that Mia will get Santi a record deal, the corrillo begins to celebrate prematurely, beginning a web of complications and lies that get them all into pretty deep trouble when they are introduced to a woman posing as a rival A&R person named Gina, who has much more sinister ties, in a storyline that seems to have been left as a thread for a potential season 2.
It would be better if Ness' only storyline was not that she is a meek lesbian disaster of a character who waits until around the fifth episode to grow a spine and stick up for herself and her friends (not a good sign given that the season was only eight episodes). Also, both Mia and Santi's storylines are crazily unbelievable. There is such a thing as suspension of disbelief, but in my opinion, the show pushed that entirely too far when Santi rocketed to attention over night with no real team behind him. And you expect me to believe that someone among the corrillo wouldn't try to look Mia up to see if she was who she claimed?
For me, the saving grace of the show comes in its music, and in the cameos made by some of my favorite actors, including Santiago Cabrera as Oscar, the scheming real A&R with a secret heart of gold.
Overall, worth a watch, but it's pretty much mindless entertainment. I hope a season 2, if it gets one, will be better.
Boy, was I wrong. As good as lead actor Tyler Dean Flores is, his character Santi comes across as a completely self-absorbed and immature young man who grows to care more about his fame and how he can use it to gain money and women than his best friends, who he calls his «corrillo», or his clique. The sheer hubris and naivete exhibited by Santi and his friends Ness and Felix is what seems to actually make this funny.
Things only get worse when they encounter Mia, a young woman who presents herself to them as a powerful record executive when she is really the executive's secretary. Believing that Mia will get Santi a record deal, the corrillo begins to celebrate prematurely, beginning a web of complications and lies that get them all into pretty deep trouble when they are introduced to a woman posing as a rival A&R person named Gina, who has much more sinister ties, in a storyline that seems to have been left as a thread for a potential season 2.
It would be better if Ness' only storyline was not that she is a meek lesbian disaster of a character who waits until around the fifth episode to grow a spine and stick up for herself and her friends (not a good sign given that the season was only eight episodes). Also, both Mia and Santi's storylines are crazily unbelievable. There is such a thing as suspension of disbelief, but in my opinion, the show pushed that entirely too far when Santi rocketed to attention over night with no real team behind him. And you expect me to believe that someone among the corrillo wouldn't try to look Mia up to see if she was who she claimed?
For me, the saving grace of the show comes in its music, and in the cameos made by some of my favorite actors, including Santiago Cabrera as Oscar, the scheming real A&R with a secret heart of gold.
Overall, worth a watch, but it's pretty much mindless entertainment. I hope a season 2, if it gets one, will be better.