Overview (Spoilers Below):
Self Love
While a cancer-free Angela (Issa Rae) returns to work, Stephen (Scott Mescudi) attempts to impress rapper Lil Ankh, and a disappointed Zuri (Brooke Monroe Conaway) attends a school fundraiser alone.
Just Love
As Angela attempts to tackle her lofty list of goals, Stephen struggles to stay focused on an upcoming deadline.
Work Love
While Angela’s business booms, Lil Ankh takes Stephen for a ride, and Zuri finds herself roped into her grandparents’ epic battle of the sexes.
Charity Love
When Zuri invites her friend’s family to stay with them, Angela trades in kindness for clout. Later, Stephen attempts to bond with his nephew.
Our Take:
If someone were to tell me that there was a series based on the 2019 Oscar-winning animated short Hair Love from Sony Pictures Animation coming out, I would’ve been quick to call it crazy. Maybe even insane. With something as endearing and effortful as Hair Love, it would’ve worked best as a stand-alone short from Sony’s animation library. However, it looks like I’ll be putting my foot where my mouth is because that series became part of Max’s streak of quality animated content for older viewers. Considering my immense respect for the short, it seemed fitting that I get to talk about Young Love, which continues the misadventures of the Love family.
The first episode, “Self Love”, introduces the show’s concept that plays a role in future episodes, in which the family strives to earn a better living when Angela is released from the hospital. Angela is a hair stylist struggling to provide a perfect hairstyle for her customers at a barbershop. Meanwhile, Stephen is a music producer hoping to impress Lil Ankh with his beats. Amid their attempts to earn money to provide a better lifestyle, the Loves encounter several sitcom-like obstacles that will likely test their family bond.
Think of this show as “The Proud Family” if it was made for an older crowd and centers on a struggling African American family living in an apartment. While it has the usual slice-of-life elements seen in other animated sitcoms, Young Love also provides several commentaries that multiple families encounter in their lifestyles, even the ones from the lower-class African-American community. That includes sexism in “Work Love” and homelessness and internet exploitation in “Charity Love”. But does it have the same amount of wholesomeness as the Disney show and even Hair Love? Based on my experience with the first four episodes, I can see that Young Love has the potential to be another worthwhile series regarding its representation.
Unsurprisingly, the episodes have some familiar narrative beats from other animated sitcoms, and the show’s representation of its themes isn’t anything too spectacular. However, the first four episodes of Young Love succeed in retaining the heart, charm, humor, and honesty of the source material. So far, I would say that “Just Love” and “Charity Love” are my favorites, with the former depicting the importance of living life to the fullest with loved ones through Angela’s list of goals. Along with solid voice work from Scott Mescudi and Issa Rae and suitable animation, Young Love has a shot of becoming another solid addition to Max’s adult animation library. Since the show is releasing a jaw-dropping four episodes weekly, we may find out if it succeeds sooner rather than later.