Main characters Cole and Alex Walter wear black chucks in the series.
Life comes at you fast sometimes. One minute everything is as it always has been then suddenly nothing will ever be the same. How do you move forward when that happens? That is the central question at the heart of My Life with the Walter Boys, a coming-of-age drama that is an adaptation of Ali Novak’s 2014 novel of the same name. The show stars an ensemble cast that includes Nikki Rodriguez, Noah LaLonde, Ashby Gentry, Alisha Newton, Johnny Link, Corey Fogelmanis, Sarah Rafferty, Marc Blucas, Connor Stanhope, Zoë Soul, and Jaylan Evans. The show was released on December 7th, 2023 on Netflix and has been renewed for a second season.
Cole’s chucks and blue jeans look really hammers home the whole small town, All-American look he has going on.
Jackie Howard (Rodriguez) is a young fifteen-year-old girl from New York City who has everything going for her. She’s brilliant and a member of her student council. While preparing for her school’s prom though, she receives the terrible news that her parents and sister have died. Months later, she is sent to live with her mother’s best friend Katherine Walter (Rafferty), and her husband George Walter (Blucas) in the rural town of Silver Falls, Colorado. Katherine is a veterinarian while George is a rancher, and they live on their ranch with their seven sons and one daughter.
Cole introduces Jackie to the ranch horses.
Jackie has a hard time settling in as she grieves for her lost family, friends, and New York life style while attempting to find her place in the chaotic Walter house. She soon forms a bond with two of the Walter boys, Cole (LaLonde) and Alex (Gentry). Cole is your typical chucks-wearing, high school quarterback while Alex is a quiet bookworm. These two have a strained relationship due to a previous conflict over a girl. They both then develop feelings for Jackie because they’re very smart and are definitely thinking things through. How will this love triangle affect this chaotic family and what other curveballs will life throw at the Walters and Jackie?
Jackie, Alex, and Isaac seated inside the kitchen.
There is a good show in this show somewhere, but there are a few things in the way. First off, the cast is way too big. There was no reason for there to be eight Walter kids when we only ever see three of them. The other five are just set dressing to make the house seem more chaotic than it needs to be. The central love triangle is also really problematic for a show that spends 90% of its time on it. Let’s start with Alex, who is a terrible person. He is vindictive towards his brother and his jealousy pretty much consumes him. It really isn’t even clear if he actually likes Jackie or if he is just with her so Cole can’t be. Cole is no match made in heaven either, as he really has no character traits besides brooding and being attractive. He gives a smoldering look while he treats the people in his orbit badly, and yet we’re supposed to believe that this smart, pretty girl from the city who has dreams of going to Princeton falls for him? Both of these boys are incredibly toxic and it leaves the viewer feeling bad for Jackie because she deserves better. The rest of the show is a by-the-books teen drama, but it never can get over the toxic love triangle at its core.
Parker Walter wears optical white high top chucks.
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