Tune In Or Tune Out: ‘Young Love’ Is A Wholesome, Messy Look Into Young Black Family Life
Max’s animated series Young Love sets up a show of youth, heart, and family, following Angela Young (Issa Rae), Stephen Love (Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi), and their young daughter Zuri Young Love (Brooke Monroe Conway). The millennial-parented, Chicago-based Young Love family figures out parenthood, growing up, and social issues one step at a time with the help of Angela’s parents, Gigi (Loretta Devine) and Russell (Harry Lennix), friends, and coworkers. Based off Matthew A. Cherry’s Oscar-winning short and book Hair Love, Cherry executive produced in partnership with Sony Pictures Animation. With a blend of topical satire, heart, and ridiculous animated adventures, Young Love brings its own voice to the family sitcom genre and takes a wholesome, messy look at young Black family life.
Meet the Young Loves
The series’ unique take on the family sitcom begins with its rounded out, one-of-a-kind characters. Coming off a battle with cancer, Angela is a hair-dresser with aspirations to become a vlogger. Issa Rae infuses Angela with upbeat, awkward relatability, familiar to Insecure fans. Stephen is a music producer fighting off insecurities rooted in his father’s abandonment of the family. Together, Angela and Stephen are loveably identifiable in their millennial flaws; in one episode they brag about past traumas as excuses for their current strange money habits. Their daughter Zuri is a boundless six-year-old whose offbeat precociousness — like pretending to be an oracle of God in order to steal “Star Student” status from her friend — is never irritating to watch. The Young Loves evoke sympathy in their struggles to pay off student loans, let Zuri become more independent, and stand up to bullies, as well as their uncertainty about most everything except their love for each other.
In true animated form, the supporting characters are each full of life. Whether it’s the pseudo-philosophical, uber-rich rapper Stephen produces for, Angela’s ditzy coworkers, or Zuri’s teacher who shares a little too much about her man troubles, they all contribute to a dynamic, absurd world. Side characters bring their own layers of complexity. For example, Gigi and Russell balance being parents and grandparents with keeping the spark alive in their decades-long partnership; likewise Stephen’s nephew Amir (Noah Cottrell) struggles to connect with adults yet finds confidence in exploring his unconventional style and taking Zuri under his wing.
Rather than plot, characters’ rich backstories drive the series. Amir’s parents’ whereabouts, Angela’s cancer, and Stephan’s estranged father are alluded to in a couple episodes, but they mostly arise when those traumas affect other conflicts. These stories feel like a part of the fabric of each character, not just something to keep viewers hooked. The characters thus add layers to the sitcom in a genuine way.
However, that’s not to say each episode struggles to hold the audience’s attention. The series employs classic sitcom set-ups, main plots, side plots, and solid act structures to keep each bite-sized, twenty-minute episode moving at an entertaining pace. The conflicts are straight-forward in structure but wild in concept. In one episode, Angela finds her cancer bucket list and ropes in Stephen and Zuri to cross off every item in one day. She goes from sweaty yoga in the apartment, to recreating a Parisian café complete with mini guillotine, to training doves before Stephen and her parents finally find the root of her mania and fears. The adventures are frenzied and comical yet always find a happy ending. The show emits waves of good feeling without becoming saccharine because of the outlandish set-ups and imperfect characters.
Was it Tune In or Tune Out?
Young Love is a family-centered show, but it has a bit of edge. If you watch with your kids, be prepared to explain what THC and adult toys are. While these topics may be mature, the show is a great way to start open, honest conversations about being a parent, a millennial, a kid, and a family. As Angela and Stephen explain to Zuri why they aren’t married, Gigi and Russell re-evaluate their gender roles, Stephen and Zuri struggle to stand up to bullies, and Zuri applies lessons about Angela Davis to the playground, viewers can begin their own conversations on family roles, growing up, and history. Young Love is more inclined to examine themes through humor than the didactic framework of 90s family sitcoms while still smoothly introducing topical issues.
It doesn’t water down real-life subjects either. Instead, Young Love uses animation and satire to facilitate conversations. Outlandish visuals — the bill drawer turning into a snarling monster, a heady dream sequence of Stephen chasing his absent father, or Zuri and her classmates appearing as green-tinted zombies when they don’t get their sugar — add a vibrant level of humor. Witty satire, such as a hipster cafe called “Jen T. Frye’s” or Stephen writing a jingle for a tone-deaf detergent company called “White Powder,” treats real issues in a silly way. The realities of a young Black family aren’t washed away, but they aren’t emotionally draining for viewers either. Viewers can think, discuss, relate, and, most importantly, laugh with the show.
Who will like it?
Young Love is an entertaining blend of satire and heart. Its characters are charmingly imperfect, and the series takes a forthright, comedic look at life as a young Black family in Chicago. With bizarre situations balanced by happy endings and family love, Young Love is heartwarming without becoming sickly sweet. It takes the impulses of classic 90s family sitcoms and adds its own unique, chaotic, heartfelt voice. All 12 episodes of the first season can be streamed now on Max.
