Run Away and Fall in Love with Prime Video’s “Sterling Point”
In the late nineties and early aughts, there was a wave of teen-focused dramas. I grew up watching The O.C. and One Tree Hill, and this genre will always have a special place in my heart. As superhero movies began to take over the box office, they trickled down to the small screen as well. Shows like Arrow and The Flash became the new teen dramas, trading interpersonal drama for world-ending alien attacks. Recently, though, there has been a resurgence of these teen-focused shows with The Summer I Turned Pretty, Never Have I Ever, We Were Liars, and now, Sterling Point.
Created, written, and directed by Megan Park (of The Secret Life of the American Teenager fame), Sterling Point is a razor-sharp return to form. It’s the perfect blend of dreamy teen romance, improbable situations, and a distinct lack of parental oversight. The amount of time that can pass without any of these teenagers being held accountable by a parent is truly shocking, and that, by my account, is the hallmark of a great teen drama.
Courtesy of Prime
Sterling Point is named for a small island. It’s the sort of quaint, picturesque town filled with hidden secrets that can really only exist in a show like this. Before we see the island, though, our story begins in New York City. Annie (Ella Rubin) and her twin brother, Connor (Keen Ruffalo), are polar opposites. He’s a free spirit, about to head off to Greece for the summer before their senior year of high school. Annie is anxiously waiting to hear about a summer internship that will set her on the course for the rest of her life — which she has meticulously planned out. But the acceptance never comes. Instead, she gets a one-two punch of a rejection letter and word that her estranged grandfather has passed away. In her grandfather’s will, Annie learns that she and her brother have inherited the island of Sterling Point. Their dad (Jay Duplass) has always been cagey about his deceased wife and her side of the family and the siblings never knew about their mom’s life in Sterling Point. Frustrated and uncharacteristically unmoored, Annie flies to Sterling Point and learns of a sister, Ramona (Amélie Hoeferle), she knew nothing about.
The initial dynamic between Ramona and Annie feels a lot like the scene in the Lindsay Lohan version of The Parent Trap when the twins are banished to the treehouse. There’s tension, animosity, and eventually, friendship. The heartbeat of Sterling Point is these siblings and, to a lesser extent, Connor. When the three of them are together, they’re a whirlwind, bickering, jabbing, laughing, and being siblings in the simplest sense of the world. It’s not a matter of blood or being raised together, but something more intrinsic.
Courtesy of Prime
Like all good teen dramas, there’s a love triangle. Annie finds herself torn between rich kid Rory (Daniel Quinn-Toye), who she knew in middle school, and Ellis (Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie), the Sterling Point local who works for the summering rich families. Rory is more outward with his crush, whereas Ellis is a boy of few words. It’s easy to see how Annie could be torn between the two, and they provide the essential romantic backdrop for the series.
Annie isn’t the only sibling to fall in love on the island this summer. Ramona has been harboring a crush on her best friend, Oona (Bo Bragason), for quite some time. Unlike other teen series, the drama and the yearning between Ramona and Oona is not about coming to terms with their sexuality. They’re both extremely open and aware of their queerness, but they’re also terrified of losing their best friend if they allow their romantic feelings to take hold.
Courtesy of Prime
In a time when LGBT representation in media and wider cultural acceptance are dwindling, Sterling Point is a breath of fresh air. No one bats an eye, and all their friends are rooting for Oona, Ramona, and Sully (Nikko Angelo Hinayo), another queer member of the friend group. One small moment that stands out is when Annie tells Ramona she’s beautiful. Rarely are queer girls, especially ones who are more on the butch side of the spectrum, seen as beautiful in a desirable sense, worthy of emulating. It’s a small moment, but one that holds immense weight, given the state of the world.
Sterling Point is so easily bingeable that the full, eight-episode season will fly by without the viewer realizing it. The sweet, dramatic teenage love stories, mixed with the slow parsing out of secrets of past generations, make for a delightful vacation to a secluded island. Best of all, no pesky parents get in the way, just as the teen drama gods intended.
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