ROYALS, the smashing Netflix show from Sweden, has something for those who love films about royal families, with a special lavender touch. Edvin Ryding is absolutely gripping as a young, troubled royal who is sent to the Hillerska boarding school so he can take the same steps toward manhood that his older brother, the Crown Prince, triumphed in.
However, Wilhelm has been living in the long golden shadow of his brother, so everything is a challenge – sports, friendships, academics, and living on his own. The friends, enemies, and relationships he experiences at school will no doubt shape his life and career, and I cannot wait for subsequent seasons.
When Wilhelm meets Simon (Omar Rudberg) - a townie who is not of his same social class - he meets a friend with neither pretension nor promise, but who is comfortable in his own skin. The friendship between two boys of different classes is as old as time in fiction, but this take seems fresh and honest, partly because the stars wonderfully authentic on-screen presence.
U
nlike many movies, the students at the school are not movie star handsome. They are pimply and out of shape and overweight, which is wonderful and charming.
I heartily recommend YOUNG ROYALS, as the episodes fly by with a crucial plot point happening in each. Congrats to the cast and entire creative team.