We cannot seem to stop consuming schmaltzy teen romcoms at the moment, one of the few genres that consistently does well (viewership-wise) despite being incredibly formulaic. The latest in a long line of “Who’s she going to choose to love?” is My Life With the Walter Boys, but where can you watch it?
My Life With the Walter Boys is a coming-of-age drama adaptation of Ali Novak’s 2014 novel. The novel was first written on Wattpad, a prominent platform for new authors to share their work, especially in the teen romance genre. The story focuses on Jackie Howard (Nikki Rodriguez), who, after losing her entire family in a car crash in New York, must leave the big city life she has always known to move to rural Colorado. Here, she is taken in by the Walter family, who just so happen to have seven sons. Jackie must move forward with her life not knowing where she belongs anymore, or who she belongs with.
The premise feels like something a teenage girl (okay, hands up, I was that girl) created while playing The Sims. Props to Nocak, though, who did write it when she was 15 and it’s now been picked up by Netflix. My Sims’ love stories ended when I uninstalled the game.
In this instance, you take one pretty girl, surround her with potential love matches, have her “connect” with them, and then watch the drama unfold. Here we have another classic love triangle involving brothers Alex (Gentry Ashby) and Cole (Noah LaLonde). If you like The Summer I Turned Pretty, you will love this, too, I’m sure. Though there appear to be numerous problematic themes in a show that could focus on grief and adjusting to huge life changes but instead appears to focus on the hormonal teenagers all living under one roof, viewership has been extremely high.
The series can be found on Netflix, and since its release on December 7, My Life With the Walter Boys has racked up a whopping 57.9 million hours viewed. This has firmly placed it in the number one position on Netflix’s Top Ten Chart for English TV shows, which it has held onto for the last two weeks. Due to the series’ success, it has already been greenlit for a second season. So if you want to binge-watch a bunch of teens trying to navigate love, lust, and betrayal, head over to Netflix to watch My Life With the Walter Boys.
(featured image: Netflix)
Published: Dec 28, 2023 11:03 am