CRUEL SUMMER – The unconventional drama takes place over three summers in the 90s when a beautiful and popular teen goes missing, and a seemingly unrelated girl transforms from a sweet and awkward outlier to the most popular girl in town, eventually becoming the most despised person in America. Each episode is told from alternating POVs. (Freeform)
There’s such a thing as too much direction. I also think audiences assume “direction” refers to how many times the camera moves around in a single shot, or how many obvious wacky editing tricks are used to string a show together. Cruel Summer, for me, is a good object lesson in how to direct your show into the ground; it’s fine on its own, and might even be quite good in an alternate universe where it isn’t cooked to the point of scorched.
You can read my full review over at The Playlist.
A Constant Visual Feast 