Cast: William Lipton as Charlie, Jesse Golliher as Wyatt, Axel Ellis as Neal, Zende Murdock as Bez, Jeremy Young as topher, Lana Pate as Sophia, Kelley Pereira as Amanda, Maximo Salas as pete, Marley Aliah as Bender, Shane Pritchard as George, Mark Wystrach as Catesby, Hayes MacArthur as Finn, Brooklyn Decker as Hannah
Length: 8 episodes
Streaming Service: Prime video
Release year: 2025
Audio description produced By:
W
Written By:
Narrated By:
What Is it?: Follow a high school bands rise to the top as they chase a record label deal, and learn more about the individual lives of each member. Most notably, the lead singer Charlie, and his Lennon/Yoko obsession with a girl named Sophia. Will his love story destroy the band, or make them stronger? Can these guys get signed before needing to decide on college for the fall?
What Works: for a cast of mostly Gen Alpha unknowns, this cast has a surprising amount of chemistry. All of them worked well, and kudos goes to the casting director. the gimmick is that The runarounds is a functional band, and these kids aren’t faking it. The music you hear are originals written for the show, and these kids all play and sing their music. Not only did they need to find actors with charisma, but they also opted to find actors who are musicians.
I did think Charlie’s story with Sophia takes up a lot of the eight episode run, considering his character has a lot on his plate anyway. Charlie is given multiple things to deal with, including the possibility of losing his house, not going to college and not telling his parents, and a dark secret that might come to light and shake up everything he knows. Some of the other band members barely have home lives compared to him, so perhaps more balance? I would have rather learned more about Bez, for example, whose home life mostly eludes us.
Amazon throws on these “coming this season on” promos now, and The Runarounds was my first foray into “never watch these”, as they are poorly edited and full of spoilers. I ended up just waiting for all those things to happen, which inevitably they did, and I could tell what was about to happen as those scenes popped up.
In my opinion, the show is a bit out of touch with the current music landscape, where artists don’t really chase labels as much, as they can self publish and upload to a myriad of platforms. There are dozens of home studios and people making radio friendly music for everything from Spotify to Apple Music without the assistance of a label. Now, it is all about your social media footprint, and when the show broaches the subject finally, it does it lightly, suggesting the allure is still very much in the label, and they are still very picky.
They don’t sound like generational talent, like The Beatles, but they seem to need to hit that bar. They are radio friendly, and I can understand why people would listen, but this isn’t reinventing the wheel. So, for label executives to hold them to that standard, they really needed to hit that high of a note. They had to be on the level of stardom by the end of the season I’m not sure they actually achieve.
Each episode does kind of raise the profile of the band a bit more, and aside from the boys, they are accompanied by three girls that contribute to the story and I would expect to see in a second season (if ordered). But some of the shenanigans the kids get up to feel silly. They run into someone who is a little big on the gangster side when trying to recover stolen instruments, and this tough criminal drops a joke that suggests he’s a fan of NPR. Wyatt has this deeply frustrating relationship with his mom, and it doesn’t really resolve in a way that feels like she’s understanding anything that has transpired from the introduction of her character through the season.
It isn’t a perfect show, but it feels unique enough I can see Amazon finding a spot for it. It also feels like the kind of faux teen drama that adults end up watching, and the target demo knows nothing about. When Motorheads was on, I couldn’t find any of the young adults I work with who had even heard of the show, and that got the axe. They are obsessed with the Summer turning Pretty, but, I haven’t heard anyone mention The Runarounds.
The Audio Description: I didn’t have any problems with the track that I can remember. It has a fairly decent ensemble to track, through a myriad of situations. Some standout moments included the rooftop performance, the trailer accident, and the wonderful land of Oz.
Why You Might Like it: It’s the closest thing to Daisy Jones and the Six: season 2 you’ll ever get. Shows like this typically don’t survive anymore, and only seem to run one season.
Why You Might Not Like it: It is meant for teens. It plays a bit broader than that, but still I can see older adults not finding the time to check out The runarounds.
Final Thoughts: The Runarounds aren’t just chasing stardom, they’re chasing a second season order at a streaming service that just said never mind to Amy Sherman-Palladino. I think the boys have done enough to earn another season, but I also think we’ve seen other shows that deserve it get cancelled at Prime Video.
Fresh: 6.7/10
