Prime Video's latest bingeable summer drama Sterling Point has viewers "hooked" and crowning it "the show of the year".
The series has all the ingredients fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty and Every Year After lapped up, from a stunning lakeside backdrop to the highs and lows of first love and heartbreak, but is being hailed for its "refreshing" take on the young adult genre.
After finding out her estranged grandfather has died and left an island in Canada to her and her twin brother Connor, New York teen Annie Robertson jets off to get to the bottom of her mysterious inheritance, only to unravel buried family secrets. What ensues for Annie is an unexpected sun-soaked summer of new friendships, budding romance and self-discovery as she learns more about her deceased mother's secret past.
© Sabrina Lantos/PrimeWhat are viewers saying?
Shortly after all eight episodes dropped on Prime Video, the series has received generally glowing reviews and a score of 91 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
One viewer on X (formerly Twitter) gushed that they'd "been hooked on Sterling Point all day long" while a second said it was "not just the show of the summer it’s the show of the year."
Another raved it was "low-key one of my favourite things I've watched lately," adding "It's the kind of show that takes everything you expect and makes it feel new." According to one viewer, it was a "refreshing" watch compared to previous summer-set dramas.
Someone else particularly praised leading star Ella Rubin as a "breath of fresh air" for her performance as Annie.
© Courtesy of PrimeWhat do critics think of Sterling Point?
Sterling Point has received overall positive reviews from critics, with Variety praising the series for offering "something wholly unique and wistfully authentic to the genre" and claimed it was "one of the most authentic YA shows in years."
A reviewer for The Guardian said the show "kept subverting my expectations". They added: "If escapism is the brief, then Sterling Point fulfils it expertly. Sure, it doesn’t carry the intensity or the existentialism of its edgier counterparts. But I was surprised by how long I wanted to stay with these characters and inhabit their island bubble."
Other reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes lauded the show as "teen drama storytelling at its best" and a "young-adult mystery elevated by a talented cast and writing that makes the series endearing and surprisingly addictive for its target audience."
Who stars in Sterling Point?
© Courtesy of PrimeThe series is led by a cast of rising young actors, including one cast member with a very famous Hollywood connection. Keen Ruffalo, Marvel actor Mark Ruffalo's 25-year-old son, stars as Connor in Sterling Point, which marks his first major TV role after appearing in films like Thor: Ragnarok and Nimrods.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan stars as Sterling Point resident Joe in a role very different to what viewers are used to seeing him play in The Walking Dead and Supernatural. The series was a special one for Jeffrey, who shared the screen with his teen son Augustus Morgan, 16. Jeffrey's wife, One Tree Hill actress Hilarie Burton, gushed that their son's first speaking role "will be a memory he keeps forever."
Other cast members include Amélie Hoeferle (The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes, Night Swim), Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie (Billie Blue), Daniel Quinn-Toye (Sunny Dancer) Bo Bragason (Renegade Nell), Nikko Angelo Hinayo (Davey & Jonesie's Locker), Mabel Strachan (The Ridge), Elle-Maija Tailfeathers (Three Pines), and Missi Pyle (Shelter).
