Maxton Hall helps fill a void left by The CW's YA dramas

If the first season spent six episodes on a slow-burn evolution, then the second focuses on the grounded, real-life issues between James and Ruby. For starters, he finds it tough to move on after his mother’s sudden death, partly because there’s no one to shield him and his sibling, Lydia (Sonja Weißer), from their controlling, evil, sexist father, Mortimer (Fedja van Huêt). So his coping mechanisms include alcohol, parties, and making out with another classmate in front of Ruby, who faces problems of her own. Ruby’s entire focus is to ensure her Oxford admission and get a coveted internship, not chase after her boy toy. She’s not here to save James, as she states to his face. Thankfully, Maxton Hall knows it’s strongest when Hardung and Herbing-Matten are onscreen together, so their breakup is as brief as their rivalry. But the reunion comes courtesy of necessary character development. James works on himself by going to therapy, openly discussing its benefits, confronting Mortimer, and standing up for both Ruby and Lydia. All these elements bring nuance to Maxton Hall‘s YA soapiness. 

A few recent shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty, My Life With The Walter Boys, and Tell Me Lies thrive on love triangles, miscommunication, and toxic entanglements. In contrast, Maxton Hall’s saccharine, sexy, even somewhat grown-up romance is a lovely break. A captivating execution helps viewers overlook the show’s other flaws. A big drawback, much like in Kasten’s source material, is a defense of the affair between Lydia and her teacher, Graham Sutton (Eidin Jalali). While Maxton Hall repeatedly clarifies that they hooked up before meeting in school, a TV show indulging in this type of “couple,” without calling it grooming, is maddening. Did we learn nothing from PLL‘s Aria and Ezra debacle? And then there’s Mortimer’s endless interference. To stop his son from seeing Ruby, he wreaks havoc in her life by getting her mother fired and Ruby’s internship revoked. Mortimer also pays no heed to Lydia, who shows acumen for the job over James. In other words, he’s a stereotypical mustache-twirling villain in the vein of OTH‘s Dan Scott and Gossip Girl‘s Bart Bass.  

Maxton Hall derives surface-level melodrama from these side arcs and tosses in some spice with silly theme parties, galas, debates, and whatnot. It’s all classic CW—and is notably in the wake of that network fizzling out its teen dramas. Maxton Hall‘s viewership numbers alone prove that audiences are likely starved for comfort food of this nature. So after the end of Prime Video’s other YA hit, TSITP, and before Bridgerton‘s theatrics return next month, Maxton Hall should sate viewers craving a heavy serving of giddy romance.  

Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club‘s TV critic.