‘Crew Girl’ Review: Netflix’s New Teen Drama Has Plenty of Heart On and Off the Water
Netflix’s newest teen drama has dropped, and suddenly you’ll want to learn how to row. Crew Girl follows Teagan Tao (Miku Martineau), an elite rower whose life is upended when her father is arrested for fraud. Forced to move across the country to Eagle’s Cove, she finds herself at Easton Prep, where she becomes the coxswain of the boys’ crew team.
Spoilers Ahead!
Netflix always manages to pull me in with a teen drama despite the occasional cringiness, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Crew Girl. As someone who is the target audience for coming-of-age dramas, I figured I would like it, but I didn’t expect to connect with it as much as I did.
While the series was advertised as following Teagan’s story, including a love triangle, it actually dives into the lives of the entire cast. I was happy to see that romance was alive and well, from Teagan’s attraction to Josh to her complicated feelings for Cam. I was especially happy when Cam and Teagan found their way back to each other because, honestly, I was getting a little tired of the “bad guy gets the girl” cliché.
I not only fell for Teagan’s story but also became invested in her crewmates and their lives at Easton Prep. For only eight episodes, I thought Netflix did a great job of giving us glimpses into everyone’s backgrounds without making any one storyline feel too overwhelming. Josh and Ryder fighting for the family company, Cam’s financial struggles, Baloo’s secret relationship, and Juliet’s strained relationship with her parents all made for compelling side plots.
Perhaps what made Crew Girl resonate with me was that it had all the classic ingredients of a teen drama: complicated family dynamics, secrets, sabotage, and romance. I knew it wasn’t going to be entirely focused on romance, but I wasn’t expecting just how much drama would unfold.
Crew Girl also excels at highlighting both team camaraderie and the selfishness that can come with being an athlete. I would have liked to see more of the characters outside of their athletic environment, whether in the classroom or literally anywhere else at school, but the series does a great job of showing just how much sports can take over someone’s identity.
My one gripe with the many storylines, however, was that Teagan sometimes felt like a side character in her own story. I would have loved to see her open up more about her dad, whether to Josh, Cam, or anyone else. It was clear that she was trying to ignore her family drama and focus on rowing, but I wanted to see more emotional range from her.
Teagan definitely gave us plenty of classic teenage-girl reactions, but I kept waiting for the moment when she would finally explode. If Crew Girl is renewed for Season 2, I would love to see the writers dig even deeper into Teagan. We know she has a heart of gold, will do anything for the people she cares about, and is an exceptional leader. Now, I’m ready to see what happens when she is truly challenged outside of the boat.
Overall, I think Netflix is very much on the right track with Crew Girl. If the writers keep building on what worked in Season 1, I think this show has the potential to explode. I loved seeing a new sport dominate our screens and watching a talented cast step into the spotlight. Hopefully, we’ll return to Easton Prep for Season 2 and finally see the formation of a girls’ crew team.
What did you think?
Loved it
Hated it
So/So
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