Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0
4
Welcome to the North Shore!
You have to admit, it doesn’t have the same pizzazz as ‘Welcome to the OC, bitch’, but I’m excited to be here nonetheless because there’s something refreshing about Rescue HI-Surf.
In the day and age of countless reboots and spinoffs, we’ve got something FRESH. Something different. It’s something unlike anything else CURRENTLY on television. And that’s something to celebrate.
If you come into the pilot thinking you’re in for anything in the same stratosphere as Baywatch (the only true show you could compare this to), then you haven’t paid attention to the marketing rollout, which has made a point to focus on the rescues over the drama.
That’s no shade to Baywatch. I, for one, was a massive fan of the series at one point because it was silly and light, and the bathing suits were cute.
And I also wanted to know which lifeguards were hooking up at any given time! Sue me!
Of course, there are personal elements in this one, such as entanglements, exes, family dynamics, and the like, but it’s mixed in with a healthy amount of actual lifeguarding, a profession that doesn’t always get the kind of credit it should.
Being an open-water lifeguard is a TOUGH job, and on the North Shore, it’s a necessity.
The first hour plays as a set-the-scene more than anyone else, which is what a pilot is supposed to do. It’s not overstuffed or hard to follow, but keeping things relatively straightforward leads to an hour that feels like it’s missing something.
However, it does leave you feeling like there’s potential there. Once they find their footing and lean into what kind of show they want to be, there’s no reason this show won’t be a hit.
It’s heavier on the drama to start and slips in a bit of levity here and there, but it sometimes seems unsure of exactly what kind of show it wants to be. But this is only the pilot. There’s room for growth.
Sonny, referred to throughout as both Cap and Uncle, is the captain on the North Shore, and he looks like he’s a bit weathered and beaten down by the job, but those around him revere him.
Perhaps none more than by Em, who’s clearly Sonny’s protégé and his lieutenant.
There’s obvious respect there, and maybe some blurred boundaries, as she probably feels more comfortable confronting him on things that maybe Will and Laka wouldn’t feel as comfortable doing.
But Sonny is the heart and soul of that beach, and perhaps more than anything, he wants everything and everyone there to succeed.
He is an all-around nice guy who may have some demons. You know, typical captain tendencies on these kinds of shows.
Sonny seems interesting enough, but the standouts during the first hour are the threesome of Will, Em, and Laka, who work together, hang together, and have a very playful friendship amongst them.
Arielle Kebbel is no stranger to primetime television, and she fits right in as the hardworking Em, seemingly the only female lifeguard on the North Shore and Sonny’s righthand.
She presents as pretty chill, and a friendly rivalry between her and Sonny has the makings for an epic divide at some point.
When the two have the little row over Sonny essentially getting bought out by a politician (hi Shawn Hatosy!), you can tell Em is disappointed in Sonny but unwilling to press the issue.
How long will that last, though, especially given Sonny’s emotional state?
Will is apparently not long for the lifeguarding world, as he wants to switch his flip-flops for boots and become a firefighter. He and Em working so closely together while being exes is so cliché, and I love it!
I won’t lie and say these two are lighting the screen on fire during their scenes because if they hadn’t explicitly said they were once a couple, nothing in their interactions would have given it away.
But you can tell there’s something there, just under the surface, especially on Will’s end. He gets a little twinkle in his eye whenever he looks at Em, and his decision to abandon his job because his fiancée doesn’t feel comfortable with him working with his ex will surely end badly.
I’ve seen this movie before.
OR, maybe I’m not seeing it clearly enough.
I get why the fiancée feels threatened by it—or perhaps unnerved. But we don’t learn enough about the fiancée or the Em and Will relationship to see much beyond her jealousy.
They kind of dangle this little plotline out there as a little something to get you hooked on the pairing (every show needs a ship!), but it’s so underdeveloped right now that it’s hard to give it too much thought.
The pilot’s real star is Kekoa Kekumano as Laka, a fellow firefighter who is easily one of the most charming guys I’ve seen on a series in a long time.
Laka is the comic relief, and he’s utilized in a way here to be presented as the playboy who says everything the audience is thinking.
And while that could easily be a role that comes across as annoying (and quite frankly, I expect it to eventually), Kekumano radiates charm and allows you to see beyond the borderline obnoxiousness.
It’s seriously dripping out of his pores. Every time he was on screen, I could not have been more invested in whatever he had to say, and it was usually gentle ribbing or incredibly terrible flirting.
But hopefully, his story will be one of eventual maturity because I can unfortunately see that schtick getting old sooner than later, no matter how charismatic they may be.
The three lifeguard buddies and their interactions are the best things about the opening hour, alongside the rescues and the little rivalry between Hina and Kainalou, which, much like Em and Will, is teased just enough to get you wanting more.
Hina smokes Kainalou in the ridiculous test you have to take to be a lifeguard on the dangerous ass beach, but she loses her spot because of Shawn Hatosy’s Councilman Emerson.
I like the idea of introducing a corrupt politician into things and figuring out how Kainalou will figure into everything, as he doesn’t seem like an evil kid. Still, he’s got a chip on his shoulder, and he lets his nerves get the best of him, which is pretty much the last thing you can do when your job is to save people.
Emerson is pretty ballsy to walk in and throw his weight around, and you have to imagine that won’t be the last time he does it. It puts Sonny in an awkward position, but he’s ultimately doing what he thinks is best for the whole.
But Hina should have been a part of the team from the jump, and it’s a good thing she eventually got there because we would have had problems otherwise.
The series will rely on these beach rescues throughout the season, and it will have to because as many people love the theatrics and soap opera antics of a show like this, just as many, if not more, are tuning in for the action.
There are two big rescues here, and they’re shot brilliantly.
I don’t know much about lifeguarding, but the way they’re shot here makes the rescues on this beach, with its explosive waves and choppy waters, feel larger than life.
The underwater shoots are crisp and scary. I know the point isn’t necessarily to scare you, but seeing how those waves crash down and can knock you out and pull you under is decidedly terrifying.
You could see Kainalou messing up that rescue coming from a mile away. Still, it didn’t make it any less painful to see the team have to rush down the sand carrying a body to the ambulance, wholly exhausted and unsure if those crucial extra minutes would mean the difference between life and death.
Everyone is rescued in the premiere, which makes sense, but surely there will be some tragedies along the way, and I’m already not ready for that kind of pain.
Rescue HI-Surf has a lot going for it, from its stunning location to the solid cast and appealing storylines. Things are starting a little slow, but the action and the potential for drama are certainly there.
We could be for big things with this one.
Extra Rescue Notes
- Hina has some issues at home, and it’ll be interesting to see how that translates to her ability to do the job. I’m also totally here for a rivals-to-friendship thing with her and Kainalu.
- Sonny lost his nephew, and his sister (sister-in-law?) won’t speak to him. His daughter is having a grand ol’ time cruising down the streets in the middle of the day, and he barely passed his re-certification. Oh, Sonny.
- My anxiety was through the roof in the beginning when all those people were surfing in those waves. How can you possibly keep an eye on everyone? Is that what it’s genuinely like?
- Hawaii is beyond gorgeous, and this pilot does a beautiful job highlighting the realities of the island.
There’s lots to discuss about this one; honestly, they can only go up from here! So, drop all your comments below so we can discuss it all.
You can watch Rescue HI-Surf on FOX on Mondays at 9/8c.