If you have not caught up to ELITE yet on Netflix, season 4 is about to drop and will no doubt be as hot and exciting as the previous seasons. This Spanish Netflix from Spain has a great and simple starting point. Three working class students have been granted scholarships to the most elite high school in town because their high school collapsed due to shoddy workmanship. The new kids are not only in a different social class but are different religions and genders. It makes for a fiery and sexy stew.
The show is unabashedly sexual in what seems to be the standard European way as the kinds mingle in straight and gay relationships. There is a lot of skin, and great partnerships to cheer for as the new students learn how to navigate this strange new world. The school is a spectacular setting, with a lot of action in the huge swimming pool, matched only in elegance by the residences of the wealthy kids. Its all very sensual and impressive.
Or course once love breaks out, can envy and murder be far behind? Season 1 will have you on the edge of your seat, and Season 2 looks back at cues we might have missed as the murderer is identified.
This is great popcorn material, but presents interesting questions about religion and acceptance. The fact that the non-traditional bi and gay relationships are included as part of the spectrum of the students lives, and gives you hope for kids in the future.
The ensemble cast members have become international superstars known for their ‘thirsty’ photos on IG, including Miguel Bernardeau, Itzan Escamilla and many more.
SOTUS is from Thailand, and has some of the same themes, without the flesh and obvious sexuality.
In another spectacular school setting, this time university, the juniors, led by Perawat Sangpotirat are in charge of hazing the incoming freshman class. But one freshman immediately attracts the wrath of the upperclassman, and Prachaya Ruangroj is wonderful in his sly and innocent resistance.
Like ELITE, SOTUS has a huge ensemble of minor players who each make an impression, this time with shirts on.
I would recommend both programs as a great way to see the pressures of the youth of our world. The insults, the hazing and the bullying are as old as time. However, the new forms of acceptance and resistance give hope.