Sterling Point is the new coming-of-age TV drama from Megan Park, writer and director of brilliant indie comedy My Old Ass and follows type-A teen Annie Jacobson (Ella Rubin), who is reeling from being rejected from her dream summer business programme at Wharton Business School. If that was not enough bad news, she learns from her twin brother, Connor (Keen Ruffalo), that their estranged grandfather has passed away.
They both have inherited land and a property near Lake Muskoka in Ontario. After some careful sleuthing, she discovers her estranged grandfather had penned letters over the years, which were hidden by her dad. Annie decides to do something out of character. With a summer to fill, she seizes an opportunity to search for answers about her late mother’s life in Sterling Point. Her decision to do so (by leaving a single sticky note)is a stark difference to the highly-strung personality we observe within the opening of the show.
The coming-of-age genre does feel overly saturated at points. Sterling Point is a breath of fresh air in the genre. It is filled with emotional depth that positions the show as one which is an exploration of identity, processing grief and feels authentic in its portrayal of the Gen-Z characters.
Younger characters can often feel as though they’re being written to represent a particular type, with conversations frequently centring on sexuality and identity to the point that it can seem overemphasised. Sterling Point is smart enough to understand that whilst we can appear to conform to basic labels, they are simply a starting point. The group of friends Annie finds in Ellis (Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie), Rory (Daniel Quinn-Toye), Ramona (Amélie Elisabeth Hoeferle) and Oona (Bo Bragson) are more than that, because they are given an identity beyond these familiar labels.
Rubin’s performance as Annie provides the series with a vulnerability which differentiates it from other coming-of-age shows. Her perfectionism fills a void in her, and it is clearly linked to the grief she feels about her late mother. But it unravels as she looks to her summer on the island to loosen up and become a different version of herself. Much of the emotional arc of the show comes from Annie’s chemistry with her newly-made group of friends. Her perfectionist nature positioned against the freer and emotionally open characters allows Annie’s rigid Type-A personality to soften.
If you are attuned to the current ‘pop girlies’, you will also enjoy the carefully chosen needle drops. Whether you are a fan of the pop rock of Olivia Rodrigo, the jazz pop of Laufey or the indie rock of Boygenius, there will be a track you recognise.
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Now streaming on Prime Video / Ella Rubin, Amélie Hoeferle, Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie, Daniel Quinn-Toye, Jay Duplass, Jeffrey Dean Morgan / Created by Megan Park / Amazon MGM Studios
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