Sterling Point Just Stole the Summer.

​When I started watching Sterling Point on Prime Video, I was like: finally! An original YA show that isn't based on a book! There are multiple teen dramas like The Summer I Turned Pretty, Off Campus, and Every Year After—but almost all of them zero in entirely on horny romantic angst. Sterling Point has a soul. It’s an unassuming, sun-dappled, summer-camp-style narrative that managing to transcend the YA genre to become an absolute phenomenon. It gives us heavy 1990s nostalgia—think Dawson’s Creek or My So-Called Life—while giving Gen Z an authentic level of realism that’s been missing for years.

Please note that this review contains spoilers. But if you don't mind them, continue.

​The story kicks off in a ridiculously posh Manhattan townhouse with our main girl, 17-year-old Annie Jacobson (played by a phenomenal Ella Rubin). Right off the bat, she’s waking up in a silk eye mask, turning off her sound machine, and launching into an absurdly bougie influencer-level skincare routine to calm her nerves. She’s waiting on an acceptance letter from a prestigious summer program at the Wharton School of Business. Annie is organized, insanely ambitious, and dangerously close to becoming a total control freak—her own brother literally jokes that all she does is "organize her creams."

​When the rejection email hits, her world crashes. Her twin brother Connor (Keen Ruffalo) and her sad, vague adoptive dad Steven (Jay Duplass) tell her to relax and enjoy her last summer before senior year. But then a lawyer suddenly shows up with crazy news: their estranged maternal grandfather, Gordon, just died. He left the twins a massive property called Sterling Point—a private island in Canada’s Muskoka region. Naturally, Annie steals an Ambien for what she thinks will be a long flight (it takes 45 minutes lmao), leaves a Post-it note on her door claiming she went to Thailand with her gay boyfriend, and sneaks off to Canada to figure out who her late mother actually was.

​When she lands in Muskoka, Sterling Point is breathtaking—dense forests, wooden docks, clear lake water, and zero cell service or 5G. But the drama starts immediately. Setting up shop in Gordon's lakefront cottage, she meets the locals: boat-builder Ellis (Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie), the charismatic Oona (Bo Bragason) and her 12-year-old sister Maple (Mabel Strachan), Sully (Nikko Angelo Hinayo), and Rory (Daniel Quinn-Toye), a rich New Yorker who gets compared to Timothée Chalamet and whose family happens to own a massive cottage nearby with Starlink.

​Then comes the first curveball: Ramona (Amélie Elisabeth Hoeferle), a stoic, standoffish redhead living on the island who looks exactly like Annie’s dead mom and claims Gordon was her grandfather too.

​Now, if I was Annie, I would have said that was MY grandfather's cottage too lol. I wouldn't have allowed Ramona to kick me out! Speaking of the cast, the actors here are wild. Amélie Hoeferle played Anne Hathaway's daughter in The Idea of You, while Ella Rubin also played Hathaway’s daughter in The Idea of You! (Wonderful movie. Go watch it if you haven't)

How crazy is that casting? Also, it was so nice seeing Sara Waisglass—the red-headed girl from Ginny & Georgia (Max's friend Abby)—make an appearance.

​And Denny Duquette from Grey's Anatomy (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as Ellis's dad, Joe? That is absolute TEA!!! Having him, Jay Duplass, and Missi Pyle rounding out the adult cast gives the whole parental-wound storyline so much heavy emotional weight.

​The music choice in this show is pure perfection. From the very first scene set to Olivia Rodrigo, to the trailer's Gracie Abrams tracks, plus Lorde, Olivia Dean, Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers, RAYE, and Mazzy Star—the soundtrack is elite.

​The heart of the entire season, though, is the sisterhood and the relationships between the girls. I love how on Maple's last day at camp, she was giving Annie, Ramona, and Oona the rundown of what happened during her week, and they were all paying attention to her—especially when she told them she got her period. It was so cool! The whole period ceremony felt like a younger sister talking to her older sisters. I also loved how Annie, Ramona, and Oona talked about their period pains. That was so relatable and handled with so much warmth.

​The dialogue across all eight episodes was ridiculously good! It actually felt like real people having a natural conversation with awkward silences and actual humor, not just actors reading off a script.

​Now, let's talk about the romance. Annie please for goodness sake, if you like Ellis, just freaking tell him! (Also, why are all these kids smoking so damn much on this island?)

Side note: I really appreciated how the show communicated just how much Annie doesn't know about being in a relationship. She lost her virginity to Rory completely on a whim. I'm glad the writers didn't suddenly make her a "know-it-all" about romance—her confusion and anxiety were so real.

​Which brings us to the question everyone wants to ask—am I Team Ellis or Team Rory?

I'm Team No One.

​Rory was way more sober when he and Annie had sex. I was not comfortable with them hooking up when they were literally both high and drunk as fuck—especially Annie. As for Ellis, all he literally does is gaze longingly at Annie while working on boats. Like dude, she isn't magically going to know you like her! However, do I find Ellis more attractive than Rory? Also yes. But I'm still Team Nobody. They all need therapy.

When you peel back the summer vibes, the show is really about adoption, grief, class struggle (with Connor trying to sell the land to developers), and deep parental scars.

To be honest, the adults are a mess.​ Goldie is the real villain: You were unhappy with your marriage, so you left, went to an island, cheated on your husband, and got pregnant with another man's child? Really??

​Steven is a victim: He's just a guy trying to make the best out of a fucking complicated and shitty situation after adopting the twins and carrying decades of grief.

​Joe is wild: How can you know you have a whole ass child for close to 20 years and you never bothered to tell her?? Or even tell your wife you cheated all those years ago??

​And that plot twist in the finale?? Yeah. I did NOT see that coming AT ALL. What do you mean Ramona is ACTUALLY both Goldie and Steven's daughter?? You see why Goldie is the fucking villain in this!

​Can I just say how much I relate to Annie on different levels? As the eldest child, the scene where she says it breaks her heart to see her dad sad, so she fixes it even when she's just a kid and it isn't her responsibility—it hit me hard. And when we get to the final episode where Annie dreams of an alternate life where her mother lived? I almost cried.

​I am super glad it has already been renewed for Season 2! The ending was poetic because it finished exactly how it started, but in reverse—Ramona wakes up in Annie's luxurious New York bed, while Annie stays behind in Sterling Point to figure out who she truly is.

Lastly, I absolutely NEED to see Ramona and Oona make up!!!!!! How they ended things wrecked me.

As "Canada is random as fuck" as Sterling Point is, it proved to be the undisputed romance and drama queen of the summer. I cannot wait to see how Season 2 explores Ramona navigating NYC while Annie grounds herself at the lake!

If you've watched this, let me know your thoughts in the comments! If you haven't, was this able to convince you to give it a try?

PS—shout out to Sully!