After several attempts to bring the British hit to the United States, MTV has finally introduced the American version of The Inbetweeners.
While the MTV show Awkward traces the life of a high school girl and the many “awkward” dilemmas she encounters, The Inbetweeners follows four not-so-cool teen boys and their struggles through daily high school life.
The season premiere introduces narrator Will McKenzie (Joey Pollari), a rich, fastidious, somewhat “nerdy” boy who suddenly transfers from a private school to a public school after his parents’ divorce.
Upon his arrival, Will meets three other students and the four become a group of friends bound by their ability to always make the wrong decisions. Will’s new friends include the spacey Neil Sutherland (Mark L. Young), the neurotic, lovesick Simon Cooper (Bubba Lewis), and the loud-mouthed poseur Jay Cartwright (Zack Pearlman). These seemingly incompatible friends somehow compliment each other in a hilarious, unexpected way.
Much of their humiliating adventures have to do with Simon’s romantic interest in his long-time friend Carli D’Amato (Alex Frank). His social awkwardness and insecurities come in the way of his success with her.
Some of the ridiculous tactics Simon uses in order to win Carli over are spray-painting her driveway, helping start a cooking club, and re-decorating his room for when she and her family stay with them.
Despite the second-hand embarrassment the viewers feel for Simon in many cases, it creates intrigue and excitement for the plot. While the “inbetweeners” experience many similar scenarios to current high school students, their means of solving their problems tend to be exaggerated for television purposes.
In the show’s pilot, the boys decide to play hooky and get drunk in order to try to break away from their squeaky clean reputations.
Although it is easy to predict that the boys will be caught and make absolute fools of themselves, we cannot help but continue watching the episode play out.
Somehow, the boys each have a lovable quality and, although the setting is a stereotypical suburban, middle-class high school and the plots are somewhat predictable, the characters are easy to root for. Because the boys personalities are so different, together they form a humorous yet genuine product.
What makes The Inbetweeners a powerful new hit is its classification of unspoken social status that all can relate to. Rather than a series that highlights the highs and lows of the social ladder in high school, The Inbetweeners exposes the life of a crowd which often does not get the attention it deserves.
Ultimately, The Inbetweeners makes for a popular show as it highlights the struggle for kids to fit in.
Even though The Inbetweeners is flawed in creating a realistic plot line, the clever idea of the show connects with its fans. I recommend tuning in for the entertaining lives of The Inbetweeners.