Sterling Point: Your Next Canadian Vacation?
Did this teen drama crack the case on relatable television?
By: Danielle Farrell
Picture this: a crisp breeze blows through your hair. The smell of pine trees envelopes you. A boat steadily whirs by.
This isn’t me pitching you your next vacation — it’s me pitching your next binge-worthy show on Prime Video.
If you read that first paragraph and felt compelled to lean in and embrace the vibes, “Sterling Point” is the show for you. But how did this “teen drama” seem to break the curse of all teen dramas and actually become authentic?
“Sterling Point” centers around Annie Jacobson, a 17-year-old raised in New York with her twin brother and adoptive father. She quickly finds out that she inherited an island in Muskoka, Ontario from her estranged grandfather.
Upon journeying to this island, (spoiler alert) Annie finds out she has a sister that she has never met: Ramona. Things unravel until Annie becomes entangled in the intricacies of her newfound island, Sterling Point, with secrets being revealed at every turn.
After binge-watching this series in one night, I had to ask myself why I was so enthralled by a seemingly normal show with a premise I have seen over and over in the past. The internet’s reaction to it spurred this curiosity even further.
All eight episodes dropped in one night. There was no book, or built-in fanbase, to boost its success — and yet it became Prime Video’s number one global debut almost immediately.
What differentiates “Sterling Point” from all the other failed dramatic coming-of-age shows debuted on streaming platforms? How did the show runners create the formula for popularity without a book or pre-established audience?
From what I can tell, it all comes down to authenticity.
The usual issue with this genre is that adults attempt to understand how teenagers exist and communicate with one another.
Most shows directed towards teens are unfortunately reduced to a crude combination of internet slang, outdated pop culture references and millennial buzzwords.
For example, a genuine piece of dialogue from the show “Never Have I Ever”: “Tonight’s gonna be so lit, sup queens.” Do with that what you will.
The difference “Sterling Point” presents is that the language actually feels real.
The show’s creator, Megan Park, shared in an article by Yahoo News that she intentionally gave the actors freedom in what their characters said and did throughout the show. She expressed her desire for them to feel like normal people talking.
This commitment to authenticity truly makes an undeniable difference in how the show comes across to younger viewers. When watching the show with my roommates, I remember audibly commenting that I felt like I was intruding during a specific scene because of how intimate and real it felt. Every conversation seemed to resemble one I had already had in my life.
The authenticity even transcended the dialogue. The clothing, situations and relationships were so incredibly accurate to the teenage experience. There are even pages online dedicated to shopping for costumes from the show.
The series also represents queerness in a way that many pieces of media can’t seem to replicate. The combination of teen relatability and casual LGBTQ+ integration does well to provide an authentic perspective.
Most teen shows include queer relationships, but harp on their existence. They treat gayness as a character’s only personality trait, and they lack the ability to normalize sexuality as something that just exists in addition to everything else about a person.
“Sterling Point” does exactly the opposite of this, seamlessly integrating numerous queer characters and relationships into its plot with ease. Characters treat their gayness as an integral part of them, not something to pause on. They are unapologetically themselves and don’t stop to explain it.
The final aspect that contributes to the show’s sought-after recipe for series prosperity is a focus on more than romance.
The heart of the show is family. Annie and Ramona are a fundamental relationship of the plot, in addition to Annie’s growing understanding of her lack of a relationship with her dead mother. The romance almost becomes a subplot as the characters navigate their changing familial dynamics.
The writers ditched the stereotypical romance poster plot that almost all teen dramas seem to embrace, which works sometimes, but doesn’t produce the same authentic feel that the writing of “Sterling Point” creates.
Real people, dialogue, relationships and experiences come together to create a show that makes viewers (me included) want to consume it all in one night.
You don’t have to book a ticket to experience the wonders of Muskoka. The show just got renewed for a second season, so you can revisit your feelings soon.
Sterling Point might be the pioneer of a new era of authentic media. What will the next best show be about?
Danielle is a junior at UF who loves watching new TV shows. She would like to say that she doesn’t watch any cringe teen dramas … but she would be lying.
Wow amazing writer