In “13 Reasons Why,” All the Teens Look Like Teens
There are plenty of reasons why you could mock Netflix’s new show 13 Reasons Why – like the fact that Netflix has styled the title as “Th1rteen R3asons Why.” But if you can stop sipping on the haterade long enough to get even fifteen minutes through the first episode, you’ll realize it’s kind of great.
Not “Stranger Things” level great, but good enough to binge watch without feeling like you threw your life away.
But by far my favorite thing about 13 Reasons Why is that unlike a lot of other TV show that take place in a high school, the kids actually look like they could be real high schoolers.
Maybe not like the sophomores they’re supposed to be, but close enough.
They don’t wear designer clothes that were handpicked by Rachel Zoe, they don’t look like they’re pushing 30, and none of them look like they could be cast as “hot girl” in an NBC pilot.
While my co-worker Keely Quinlan disagrees with each and every argument I’m about to put forth, I think my points are valid — and I’ll prove it.
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The following are all screengrabs I took from the first episode.
I did not hunt for the right photo because I did not have to.
He looks like a high schooler who’s old for his age and going off to college next year.
He looks like a high schooler who won’t get laid until some girl takes pity on him junior year in college.
He looks like that one kid in high school who’s been held back for a couple years.
She looks like she’s in high school and hasn’t discovered what layers are yet.
She definitely looks like she’s in high school.
He looks like he’s in high school but maybe had an affair with a local cougar.
And these background actors look straight out of my senior yearbook.
They actually look like teens, right?
Now, let’s take a look at some alleged high schoolers from previous TV shows.
Would you believe this is supposed to be from a senior prom?
Does she even look young enough to be in college?
Honestly, not even real NYC rich kids look this done-up, although a teenager would think the answer to looking grown up would be to put on this makeup and try and look seductively into the camera.
While I never expect TV to be “real,” it’s always refreshing when TV shows at least try to get it right.
