Drama Club
Drama Club
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Drama Club is a series about a middle school drama club and the new student director who hopes to win school-wide acclaim with an original musical. Content is suitable for a tween audience, with anything even remotely questionable bound up in jokes. Cheerleaders go "Eww!" when the drama club is brought up, a teacher calls the drama club a bunch of "Lame Manuel Mirandas," and a student calls a teacher "lame" because he's "old." In one scene, an actor pays off the show's light technician to drop a light on a rival (it misses); in another, a student calls actors "trash with stage makeup." Otherwise, language is confined to the odd "darn," and sexual content is limited to moments like one in which a student longingly sighs another one's name. Characters are presented somewhat stereotypically, but the show also takes time to subvert cliches and expectations, like when a football player breaks into ballet on the field and his teammates gather to watch appreciatively instead of mocking him in any way.
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What's the Story?
In an ordinary town in an ordinary middle school, an overlooked DRAMA CLUB is finally ready for its moment in the spotlight. Invested new student director Mack (Telci Huynh) is in charge of this year's production of the original musical "Minnesota!" and she's determined that this time her fellow students are going to stand up and applaud. She has the club's star actor, Oliver Olivier (Nathan Janak) set as the lead, popular school influencer Bianca (Kensington Tallman) as co-lead, and has even landed the class' football star, Bench Logan (Chase Vacnin) choreographing the dance numbers. The show (within a show) must go on, and the club is ready to fight.
Is It Any Good?
Drama Club hits many of the same notes as other performing-arts nerd narratives like Pitch Perfect and Glee, but the writing's sharp and the actors so lovable and fresh that you can't help loving it anyway. In a post-Waiting for Guffman world, most of us know what to expect from a show about an obscure set of thespians filmed in the mockumentary style: the humor comes from the "Biggest Thing Everrrrrr" enthusiasm and earnestness of the players, and Drama Club does not disappoint, handing us a sweet roster of aspiring young performers and stagehands. Chief amongst them: Oliver Olivier, who's a professional actor by dint of his local Mattress Farm commercials; new director Mack, pulling strings and making deals; Bench, who's a star on the football team but also unleashes classical ballet on his fellow club members; mysterious Kurtis (Reyn Doi), the club's "master lighting designer" who shields his identity behind black sunglasses.
It's all very silly, in an agreeably loopy way. When drama club advisor Mr. Sniffet (John Milhiser) offers to do choreography for the club, he hops up on a desk to demonstrate moves he could incorporate: "The Burn Down? The Swag Bounce? CitiRock? I could teach you the Dougie, teach-teach you the Dougie." Oliver throws around Mattress Farm money and business cards for the firm; Bench never puts down his football helmet; new principal Mr. Gibbins (Ithmar Enriquez) originally planned to cancel the drama club because "The arts are dumb," but decides on a whim not to because Bench needs an elective. Drama Club is easy to watch and easy to love, with characters who are easy to root for. What more could you ask for from a Nick comedy?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the realities of high school hierarchies and whether students of any age truly divide themselves into insular groups like they do on Drama Club. Kids: Does your school have cliques, and do you ever have trouble making friends outside the lines? Parents: Do cliques still happen in adulthood, or is high school its own world?
How realistic is the show's portrayal of middle school? Are the characters relatable? How do these students change during their time in school?
How do the characters on Drama Club demonstrate perseverance and teamwork? Why are these important character strengths?
TV Details
- Premiere date: March 13, 2021
- Cast: Telci Huynh, Nathan Janak, Artyon Celestine
- Network: Nickelodeon
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Arts and Dance, Friendship, Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models
- Character Strengths: Perseverance, Teamwork
- TV rating: TV-G
- Last updated: February 28, 2022
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