When I discovered “Red Oaks” a few years ago I was late too and it came via a friend’s recommendation. I never saw it advertised or even heard of it. When I did get around to watching it I did what I hadn’t done since “Transparent” and binged it. So did everyone else I raved to about it. Hell, I even made my own bootleg Red Oaks Country Club™ shirts. Every actor in the series was fantastic. We see this all the time in the music industry and as fans of music in general…an artist makes a great record that doesn’t get the accolades you feel it deserves. So, you climb on your soapbox to hip all your friends to it so they’re in-the-know too. Sure, season two wasn’t as strong but overall it still ticked the same boxes that “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, “Caddyshack”, “Stripes” and even “Stand By Me” did for me back in the day.

-Greg Glover

Portland, OR

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We loved it and friends I’ve recommended it to keep thanking me for it. Josh Meyers (Seth’s brother) is over-the-top but hilarious.

Steve Gillan

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My wife and I love Red Oaks!! We couldn’t get enough.

-Dan Diaz

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We caught Red Oaks about a year ago and couldn’t believe we had never heard of it. Great show, great cast, but weirdly no hype

Jack Pratt

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One of those hidden gems…absolutely LOVED this series for all the reasons you stated.

Sandy Alouete

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So glad you wrote about this! Found it during the pandemic, too, and it had just the right amount of “feel good” for these crazy, shtty times. When Esmer said “boychik, boychik, my dear” to the 3 younger actors at the wedding it killed me.

Jared Milgram

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Great fucking show. Wife got me hooked.

Mike Serra

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Wow this is the first time and likely the only time I watched a series before someone!!
And I loved it.

Kara Horvath

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This is an amazing show, came out almost 5 years ago.  Fantastic!!!

Jared Polin

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When son tells dad (Richard Kind) he doesn’t want to work in his field, dad simply says “I know.” But the look on Kind’s face, & the delivery of the line literally made me burst into caterwauling tears.
I too found the series strangely beautiful.

Peter Zizzo

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I’m actually surprised no one turned you on to this before. I thought it was a gem, and the character arcs are anything but stereotypical for this genre. I know you still parse through Amazon Prime Video, because you turned me on to “Bosch”!

Roy Liu

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Red Oaks is great. Actually, Greg Jacobs, who worked with my Dad and Soderbergh on all the Oceans movies and Candelabra, created and produced it. It is largely, I think, his story.

Glad you found it and enjoyed it.

Michael Weintraub

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Saw Red Oaks years ago…even before Maisel. Loved it! Definitely an homage to the John Hughes movies of the ‘80s. Nice to see Paul Reiser as a sort-of asshole for a change, and I’ll take any excuse to see Richard Kind. You’re right…on Netflix it would’ve been a smash.

Rob Maurer

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Red Oaks was a surprisingly enjoyable show — we streamed it earlier this (when Delta curtailed our nascent going out). The soft glow of nostalgia, with a fantastic cast, (and not too much schmaltz). And it’s fun watching Resiser play an asshole.

Streaming has helped us find lots of pre-Covid show that we missed first time around

Try “Madame Secretary” (Netflix) for its surprising depth and characters

-Barry Ritholtz

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Bob I agree with you 110% on this.  I had Red Oaks in my watch list for a couple of years and recently found myself scrolling through Amazon Prime for no good reason.  I had this one saved and decided to give it a go.  And you’re right, it is a show you cannot stop once you start….the acting and the characters are all top notch, like you said.  it helps that I was the same age as these kids were in the 80’s, so I could almost feel the hi-jinks happening around me.  my wife and I binged this show in about two weeks’ time….it’s so worth taking a chance on and I’m not surprised it had such high marks.  I’m glad you chose to watch it and write about it!

Mike Farley

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Good morning Bob. I loved Red Oaks, but you neglected to mention the best part of the show – the music! So many great 80s tracks and not the ones you always hear. They played Ceremony by New Order in episode 1 of season 2, which I’ve never heard in a movie or a TV show. Incredible!

The acting is awesome, but for me, the music stole the show. I’m glad you liked it and you’re right, they don’t make movies like that today, which is a shame.

John Byrne

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Great review. I watched this a few summers back when it first came out. It being an 80s period piece attracted me, and the characters were all likeable and kept me in it. It also turned me on to Roxy Music’s Avalon!

Keep it up,

Nick Benko in Windsor, Ontario

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Personally, I loved it.

Richard Stumpf

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As a big time tennis player from NJ, this show captivated me!

Gary Eskow

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I watched Red Oaks after hunting for something/anything on Prime. I put on the show not expecting much but hung around. The characters are engaging as are the actors.

One of the better parts of the production is that it doesn’t hit you over the head with ‘80s clichés. I don’t remember one “Flock of Seagulls” haircut reference, for example. It’s more subtle and you catch yourself thinking, “oh yeah, I remember that.”

The show works because of not only the characters and casting but also because the many storylines are smartly interweaved and are relatable in any decade. It’s got a nice chill pace and you can get lost in the show as desired.

Paul Nordlund

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I watched this a year ago, very entertaining…anyone who grew up in late 70’s or early 80’ and was coming of age knew someone like at least one if not more of the characters….

Michael Creamer

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Hey Bob! Glad to hear you loved Red Oaks too! My wife discovered it, and I saw bits and pieces of it when she watched. Liked what I saw, started watching on my own, then once I caught up with her, we watched it together and loved it! The only thing I wish they would’ve added was the typical 80s movie end credits like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, etc, with an update on David, Misty and Wheeler, etc. I had to write that part in my head. Great show though, fun to hear your thoughts.

Pete O.

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I stumbled on to Red Oaks 4 years ago and watched every episode. Completely agree with your assessment. It’s good clean fun and well acted. Blows away any of these silly laugh track network offerings. You would think the networks would have gotten up to speed by now as you can say just about anything (IE cartoons like Family Guy) but they seem to live in the past just like the record labels. Lame

Justin Fontaine

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Oh man..spot on. I kinda hated this show while loving it…or loved it while I hated it. I watched the whole thing. About 2-3 years ago after a friend mentioned it. Some of the acting is really bad, I thought…but in a corny way. This write up nails it.

Best Regards,
Eric Seifert

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Glad you found Red Oaks. Steven Soderbergh is a sure sign of at least an attempt at quality and intelligence. He was intelligent enough to hire Hal Hartley to direct a few episodes. Hartley’s films are cult favorites among those who get his dry sense of humor. They have their own rhythm, like Pinter Plays and Mamet Movies. Also, Red Oaks features my old college roommate Richard Masur as Morrie.

best

 

Michael Ross

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Loved Red Oaks. I don’t know what prompted me to watch because Prime is so cluttered as you say and it’s annoying to navigate. But i’m glad I waded in and somehow found Red Oaks. I thought my wife and I were the only ones who’d seen it!

Rick Saunders