Zero chill netflix
The streaming giant hits the ice rink! Yes, sir! Netflix has, once again, come to the conclusion that the rink is the best way possible to settle teenage stories––and this time, it’s through sports-drama Zero Chill. However, here’s something for you sports fans out there––something a little bit unlikely that I’m pretty sure you’ll love to see. Aside from their Formula 1: Drive to Survive renewal, the streaming giant hasn’t updated the category since then.
After their stint with Michael Jordan and the Bulls’ The Last Dance documentary, their sports catalog hasn’t really grown that much. It’s more of a love-hate relationship if I do say so myself. With better writing this could be a hit but sadly this one slips and stumbles on the ice.Netflix and sports have long been a thing. Given the wealth of TV out there – even in the family category – Zero Chill feels like it has zero chance of standing out next to so many other heavy hitters. Whether there will be a large enough crowd to warrant a second season (and Spinning Out being axed) remains to be seen. The choreography is pretty good and the ice hockey matches are actually quite exciting. To be fair, these segments are easily the stand-out of the whole show. Zero Chill then is a show that’s the reverse – with lots more action on the ice. On the other end of the spectrum, key players for the finale are introduced around episode 6 and rush through to their conclusion.Ī few years back, Netflix released Spinning Out which focused a lot on character drama without much skating action. Likewise, the series introduces brand new, important characters and then dumps them several episodes later without mentioning them again. There’s no depth to anyone and the parents – outside of Coach Anton, Luke and Elina – have very little to do. Despite this being written as a family flick, the writing here is so shallow that I doubt families will stick around with this one for the long haul. Zero Chill is a weird show that tries to do lots of things but doesn’t do any of them competently. I won’t spoil any of that here but suffice to say, a lot of questions remain by the end of the season. The result is a cocktail of influences that feels narratively confused, as these weird episodic problems are resolved and never spoken of again. Problems in one episode are wrapped up and forgotten about, character motivations go completely askew and there’s a strange shift around episode 5 which abandons the sub-plots built up to try and find something to replace them. The trouble is, any promising early work is squandered by manufactured and contrived drama that feels forced on our characters rather than organically driven. On paper, a lot of this sounds very promising and there’s certainly scope to examine the juxtaposition between parenting styles and letting your children find their voice and passion. Meanwhile, Ava is a figure skater with a bright future, who finds herself pushed to breaking point by her Mother, Elina. Kayla’s new best friend Sky is suffocated (figurately speaking) by her overbearing Mother worried about her past. Ironically though, Kayla’s story does actually get overshadowed by Mac’s, who gets the lion’s share of the drama.Īlongside these two main storylines are several other subplots. Only, that’s easier said than done when she’s constantly overshadowed by Mac.Īcross these 30-minute long episodes, Zero Chill runs both these storylines parallel to one another. Now that she’s on her own, Kayla is forced to adapt and find her purpose. Kayla is homesick, missing her best friend Jacob who she’s had to say goodbye to and leave her figure skating career behind.
His sister Kayla however, is not so enthused. Ignoring the fact that ice hockey is an incredibly niche sport here, the family settle in as Mac begins his sporting adventure playing for the Hammers. Mac has a big opportunity to make a splash in ice hockey and believes this could be his shot to the big-time. The story here revolves around a family who move from Canada to the UK. With contrived drama, one-dimensional characters and some illogical plot beats, this skating/hockey hybrid gets lost on the ice early on and never looks like recovering. Unfortunately, Zero Chill is the TV equivalent of that friend. What starts off as an amusing observation soon becomes a tiresome slog as you’re forced to listen to another rant about meaningless drivel. We all have that one friend who makes a big drama out of nothing.