Young Royals

A reliable teen drama.

Young Royals, a Swedish Netflix series which originally released in 2021, was a quiet hit when it was first released on Netflix. Now the show is an international hit, reaching the Top 10 charts on Netflix in 33 countries. Young Royals follows Prince Wilhelm of Sweden at Hillerska, an elite boarding school, where he meets Simon, a fellow student, and the pair begin a romance

Young Royals is carried by the outstanding performances of young leads, Edvin Ryding and Omar Rudberg, but the supporting cast is equally talented and the show would not be the same without them. Most of the actors are incredibly close to the age of the characters that they’re playing which adds a layer of authenticity to the show This authenticity is further developed through the show's themes of sexuality, class differences, anxiety and grief, especially with COVID-19 and mental health. Wilhelm deals with severe anxiety and grief throughout the two seasons, brought beautifully to life by Ryding, and it is incredibly rare to find a show which deals with these topics with as much care as Young Royals does

gr. 10+, romance & drama

Both seasons of Young Royals are fantastic; however, season two fumbles where season one originally succeeded. Season one tells an airtight story of Simon and Wilhelm while also starting to explore its side characters. On the other hand, season two feels messier as it strays from its beloved leads instead following August and Sara for most of the season, arguably having more to do this season than Wilhelm and Simon. With that being said, there is an incredibly cute, yet underdeveloped, side plot between two childhood best friends and their feelings for each other.

Ultimately, Young Royals is a reliable teen drama, despite the lavish setting and oddly specific problems the characters face throughout the seasons It is important to note that while it is a Swedish show, that should not deter viewers from giving the show a chance. The English dub captures the essence of the original Swedish version, many of the dub voices are provided by the original cast members; however, there are small details that get lost in translations and there is truly nothing like the original version of the show