I was surprised how good this series is for a YouTube show!
But it has absolutely nothing to do with the Step Up franchise, so don't expect any familiar characters. And it's much more serious and deeper than the movies.
But the dances/dancer are still amazing! At the same time it criticizes our society in so many different ways. For myself, it did catch me emotionally right away.
The actors are amazing as well, they portrait the character development perfectly.
Sometimes it's a bit much cliché, but it still has enough unexpected plot twists.
So definitely a must watch if you are into drama series and (of course) dancing!
19 Reviews
Do not watch season 3 if you want to keep a good memory from this show.
tyzworks2 December 2022
SE1 and SE2 were really good, more then that!!! - it was all about the dance, with some amazing moments which are unbelievably great and appealing. Setting aside the very annoying character (i'm sure he is a great guy but his character is just super annoying - RIGO) everyone are really strong actors and amazing dancers!!!
SE1 and SE2 is all about the danceSE3 Is going cheap and stupid and is all about sex (not great sex) and the replacemnt of charchters is just killing it (in a very bad way), please do yourself a favour and do not watch SE3 - as it is, it's heartbreaking with Naya death (in real life)
I would have given this a 10 but I just can't with season 3 - I couldnt even watch it, i jumped to last episode just to see how they end it and it's a good thing i didnt watch it.
SE1 and SE2 is all about the danceSE3 Is going cheap and stupid and is all about sex (not great sex) and the replacemnt of charchters is just killing it (in a very bad way), please do yourself a favour and do not watch SE3 - as it is, it's heartbreaking with Naya death (in real life)
I would have given this a 10 but I just can't with season 3 - I couldnt even watch it, i jumped to last episode just to see how they end it and it's a good thing i didnt watch it.
Exciting!!
aj-7948123 March 2019
Best dance series out
terrencegreen2 August 2019
INCREDIBLE-Deserved more recognition
glossygirl6615 November 2021
This has really become my favorite show ever. From the music, to the dances and the cast this is such a phenomenal production. Naya was perfect for this role and she, words are not enough to praise her energy, talent and beauty.
AMAZING
mariazinhajaneiro28 March 2019
This show is amazing!! I watched season 1 when it aired and have been waiting for season 2. This season is even better than the first! The actors are getting better and better and the dances are also getting better. It's amazing!! I'm totally addicted and am really sad I've got no more episodes left to watch.
Greatest dance series!!
ally_leist25 March 2019
INCREDIBLy disappointed
cweiant-7186419 December 2022
Season 1 & 2 stepped up. Ever since Season 3 was picked up by Starz, this show has COMPLETELY fallen off. As someone that loved all of the movies, I was extremely excited to watch High Water when it first came out. I wouldn't say it was anything like the movies, as the acting was subpar, BUT it had potential and was still good. It had the right moves and energy, sprinkled in with the right amount of drama. Now, season 3, just isn't it. The writing doesn't make any sense and there's barely any dancing in comparison to past seasons, and isn't dancing the whole point of the show? It's disappointing to see this show go downhill.
Tired of the same narrative
kclay-9497116 October 2022
Great watch if you're not paying attention. Just like everything else. The narrative is the same! The white woman shines over the black woman even in the black womans element. The way television depicts the black woman makes my blood boil. She is always treated disrespectfully, bad, and looked over. This kind of show is no different from the beginning of television. The white woman was put on pedestal and the black woman was in the background hoping and wishing. This particular show is an epic fail on behalf of the creators lead actors and actresses that are of color. If you all keep allowing roles like these narratives like this to come across the screen of your televisions in your homes then we will continue to show our children we as black woman are last to all other women and that our men our black men prefer another race over us. And it promotes black men to treat us bad. I watched 2 seasons of this and hoped to see things get better and they did not they got worse. Now the 1&2season starts off with collec character being a white woman who bounces back and forth between friends to the point they are enemies and goes on to kill one and has no consequences. Oh now the hammer gonna come down in season 3 and she's all of a sudden a black woman that he will turn on once it's revealed. The Spanish man is falling all over this white girl who has nothing to lose but the black guy disrespects the black woman while on tour. It's to the point where I don't watch much television anymore I try to support shows with us in them but after watching it's like what's the point it's the same sell out shuck and jive mess from decades ago.
They Stepped it up!
harrisrobroz12 October 2021
The show is entertaining. The newcomers and seasoned actors bring it on. The dancers are amazing, and their musical talent is astounding. The entire cast and crew STEPPed it UP. They proved that there is skill required for hip hop and it has a message worthy of hearing. The show allows our minds and ears to comprehend it. Special talents are needed and can be used, if, you have the professional acumen needed and the ability to be able to work with others. But, we are reminded that there is always a cost and sacrifice required. The show is harsh, pleasant-so real that I forget sometimes that it is a fictional show that tells the truth.
Ne-Yo is believable and takes the show to a new level.
Ne-Yo is believable and takes the show to a new level.
Not Like the Movies: Has Potential and a Lttle Bogged Down by Identity Politics
Dark_Lord_Mark23 June 2018
First, I am a fan of the Step Up movies. Not because they are good, but because they are hilariously out there and dancing to save the world or community or....
The TV series is not like the movies. It's more grounded in hip hop and urbanization.
The TV series has no good guys outside the gay main character. Yes, they let everyone know that he's gay throughout and even have a sex scene. Believe it or not, straight people do not was to see that stuff. Google will push it though.
The acting is okay. No one seems to be a great actor but some characters do shine such as D'Andre and Ringo. In the end, it's about the dancing to be honest and why the performance is important to the story. High Water tries to blend urban culture with drama and hip hop dance moves. While good in theory, it DOES alienate fans of the movies. I got the idea, Google just wanted the Step Up name, as a new franchise would fail automatically. Again, it feels like it's Step Up in name only and missing LOTS of fun factor.
This really misses the cutsey, good natured characters of the Step Up movies, which is a shame. This is more Honey, than Step Up. Some guys are fun like Ringo and Ne Yo's Sage, but then we have other characters such as Naya Rivera who seem to be there to fill a quota.
With that said, the series is well shot and some characters are pleasing, as mentioned. D'Andre was actually the best written character as he has motivations, yet seems the most grounded. and most realistic. RIngo was a close second, due to the actor's ability to overact, and light up the screen.
Now the identity politics was played upon and was disappointing. So far we have the racists, the rich people being bad, the gays, deportation, fat girls and Blacks being victims of the racists. Nothing overly pushed outside the gays, due to one of the main characters being so, but still worth a mention as it is pushed heavily towards the last few episodes and no one straight, really wants to be forced to sit through a gay love scene.
All in all, worth a looks and I enjoyed it more than I thought. As a fan of the Step Up movies, this is really nothing like it. It is REALLY missing the fun of the movies but has its moments.
The music while not my cup of tea, works in places, and the first 3 or 4 episodes had some well done montages. Episode 2, had a pretty good dance sequence and someone getting beaten up simultaneously. The editors are doing a really good job and the camera crew deserves a lot of credit.
I gave it a 6 based on everything I have see, but if my arm is twisted, I can see it getting and 8 if I look past most of the little flaws and the unappealing gay love story.
Definitely worth a watch and a season 2. It's no Karate Kid, but what is?
The TV series is not like the movies. It's more grounded in hip hop and urbanization.
The TV series has no good guys outside the gay main character. Yes, they let everyone know that he's gay throughout and even have a sex scene. Believe it or not, straight people do not was to see that stuff. Google will push it though.
The acting is okay. No one seems to be a great actor but some characters do shine such as D'Andre and Ringo. In the end, it's about the dancing to be honest and why the performance is important to the story. High Water tries to blend urban culture with drama and hip hop dance moves. While good in theory, it DOES alienate fans of the movies. I got the idea, Google just wanted the Step Up name, as a new franchise would fail automatically. Again, it feels like it's Step Up in name only and missing LOTS of fun factor.
This really misses the cutsey, good natured characters of the Step Up movies, which is a shame. This is more Honey, than Step Up. Some guys are fun like Ringo and Ne Yo's Sage, but then we have other characters such as Naya Rivera who seem to be there to fill a quota.
With that said, the series is well shot and some characters are pleasing, as mentioned. D'Andre was actually the best written character as he has motivations, yet seems the most grounded. and most realistic. RIngo was a close second, due to the actor's ability to overact, and light up the screen.
Now the identity politics was played upon and was disappointing. So far we have the racists, the rich people being bad, the gays, deportation, fat girls and Blacks being victims of the racists. Nothing overly pushed outside the gays, due to one of the main characters being so, but still worth a mention as it is pushed heavily towards the last few episodes and no one straight, really wants to be forced to sit through a gay love scene.
All in all, worth a looks and I enjoyed it more than I thought. As a fan of the Step Up movies, this is really nothing like it. It is REALLY missing the fun of the movies but has its moments.
The music while not my cup of tea, works in places, and the first 3 or 4 episodes had some well done montages. Episode 2, had a pretty good dance sequence and someone getting beaten up simultaneously. The editors are doing a really good job and the camera crew deserves a lot of credit.
I gave it a 6 based on everything I have see, but if my arm is twisted, I can see it getting and 8 if I look past most of the little flaws and the unappealing gay love story.
Definitely worth a watch and a season 2. It's no Karate Kid, but what is?
It's nothing like the Step Up movies
hotmama11287924 October 2022
While I really liked the 1st Step Up and bits and pieces of the other movies. This tv show Step Up just isn't it. The acting isn't very good, it's cringy and over the top. It reminds me of the after school specials or the "educational" tapes we watched in the 80s. I don't understand why this style of acting is so popular these days. It comes off as fake with no real emotion behind the characters. Speaking of characters, they ALL look way too old to play high school kids. The dancing is ok but too fast and also feels emotionless. Maybe it'll get better over time. Watching season 2 now with my fingers crossed.
Loved it ! 💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿
fyldighed6 February 2022
Obsessed with this show!
zhane-zr22 January 2019
STEP UP-HIGH WATER IS EPIC
mandyabelita28 August 2020
Starz murdered it
OceanGirl94124 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
While I'm grateful for closure in general, I hate how Starz wrapped this series up. I knew something was off by the way things were rushed. I hit pause on my remote, googled, and there it was.
Cancelled.
The cast was amazing. Complete chemistry and talent everywhere, whether friends or love interests, bosses or employees, singers or dancers.
I want to blame the writing for the rushed final episode, but I know the orders came from higher up. I have to ask though... why have Sage give High Water to Lette after what she did, it makes no sense. And it quickly becomes Spartika. Boom. No adjustment period for the viewer. As the review title says, truly, episode 10 obliterates everything Sage built in all prior episodes. Really poor writing here, since this show is built around Sage.
Odalie writing was ruined for me. She fought so hard to be in High Water, only to train wreck herself because for some illogical reason, writers threw her into a bi-curious story line where she cheated on Davis and it blew up in her face. She confesses the cheat to Davis, then she turns right around and insultingly asks him to be the third wheel. Davis was like... nope. She throws an 8 year old level tantrum and dumps out Angel's backpack money. And, a pill addiction was written for her character in the middle of all of this. Lame writing. Just terrible.
Let's think for a moment how this should have played out.
Imagine an alternate ending where Sage bounced Lette out on her lying, scheming, backstabbing butt. Lette does her own thing with Spartaka, riding on Rigo's fame of course. We get to see dancing and music performances in different countries. Though I don't like what she did, that's truly great spinoff potential.
Imagine the spinoff scenario where Sage keeps High Water and replaces Lette with both Poppy and Tal co-running HW. If it were me, I'd insist on Uncle Al creating a franchise and adding a small restaurant within the High Water facility. Uncle Al stays. Period. Oh, and Poppy's momma's beauty shop stays too, while we're at it.
Imagine the spinoff scenario based around Black Hall with Quise and Angel. I'd love to see that. Black Hall looks like an amazing venue and a great central spot for a spinoff.
Imagine Davis bouncing around all the spinoff series as a guest from time to time.
There's so much unexplored potential here. And so much amazing talent. If Starz would have just thrown its P-Valley and Power level weight behind it, we'd be enjoying more of the IP.
A special nod to Naya Rivera. Rest in peace.
I'm hoping this IP is sold to another network that will give it more respect.
I don't know if any of the cast ever reads these reviews, but if they do...
well done.
Cancelled.
The cast was amazing. Complete chemistry and talent everywhere, whether friends or love interests, bosses or employees, singers or dancers.
I want to blame the writing for the rushed final episode, but I know the orders came from higher up. I have to ask though... why have Sage give High Water to Lette after what she did, it makes no sense. And it quickly becomes Spartika. Boom. No adjustment period for the viewer. As the review title says, truly, episode 10 obliterates everything Sage built in all prior episodes. Really poor writing here, since this show is built around Sage.
Odalie writing was ruined for me. She fought so hard to be in High Water, only to train wreck herself because for some illogical reason, writers threw her into a bi-curious story line where she cheated on Davis and it blew up in her face. She confesses the cheat to Davis, then she turns right around and insultingly asks him to be the third wheel. Davis was like... nope. She throws an 8 year old level tantrum and dumps out Angel's backpack money. And, a pill addiction was written for her character in the middle of all of this. Lame writing. Just terrible.
Let's think for a moment how this should have played out.
Imagine an alternate ending where Sage bounced Lette out on her lying, scheming, backstabbing butt. Lette does her own thing with Spartaka, riding on Rigo's fame of course. We get to see dancing and music performances in different countries. Though I don't like what she did, that's truly great spinoff potential.
Imagine the spinoff scenario where Sage keeps High Water and replaces Lette with both Poppy and Tal co-running HW. If it were me, I'd insist on Uncle Al creating a franchise and adding a small restaurant within the High Water facility. Uncle Al stays. Period. Oh, and Poppy's momma's beauty shop stays too, while we're at it.
Imagine the spinoff scenario based around Black Hall with Quise and Angel. I'd love to see that. Black Hall looks like an amazing venue and a great central spot for a spinoff.
Imagine Davis bouncing around all the spinoff series as a guest from time to time.
There's so much unexplored potential here. And so much amazing talent. If Starz would have just thrown its P-Valley and Power level weight behind it, we'd be enjoying more of the IP.
A special nod to Naya Rivera. Rest in peace.
I'm hoping this IP is sold to another network that will give it more respect.
I don't know if any of the cast ever reads these reviews, but if they do...
well done.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
