Overall score: 8/10
The brewskies, kickbacks, and sick hangs of high school are far in the past for most of us, but sometimes people choose to make it a lifestyle.
“The Real Bros of Simi Valley” is a parody of reality shows such as “Jersey Shore” or “Real Housewives,” and focuses on four best bros living in Simi Valley, California a decade after they’ve all graduated from high school.
At the end of the first season, we left off with Xander’s little brother Wade going off to community college to study photography. Bryce is getting back on his board after a serious injury that stopped him from becoming pro-skater years prior and Duncan is getting engaged to his girlfriend Tessa. Xander’s girlfriend Molly reveals she’s pregnant with Xander’s child.
The first episode of the second season picks up two months later, on the first birthday of Xander’s child, Hawke. The episode focuses on Hawke’s birthday party and the mischief made by the bros throughout the endeavor, particularly Bryce, who does not get along with Hawke the one-year-old.
Season 1 of “The Real Bros of Simi Valley” streams on YouTube and season 2 streams on Facebook Watch.
Throughout the episode, there is some depth into Xander’s struggle with the loss of his little brother Wade, who has moved on…to a community college fifteen minutes down the road. Jokes aside, as you watch Xander tear up while reminiscing on hanging out with his bro it’s difficult to not feel at least a little bit like it’s a pretty adorable relationship, even if they are just a couple bros living at their parent’s pad.
There’s also a look into Wade’s life at college and the introduction of a new character, the intensely spiritual Aldiss, played by Christian Pierce who is also a writer on the show. He introduces himself as Wade’s new roommate that Wade was not expecting.
Dani and Andrea are also a couple of newly introduced characters. Dani has been studying abroad in Italy during the first season but has returned by Hawke’s first birthday. Andrea is a girl Bryce recently met and hangs out with every day and acts romantically with, yet he insists that he is definitely not dating her.
Should you watch it? Yes, if you enjoyed the first season.
Overall, the increased length of the episodes are a compliment to the show thus far. The jokes are as frequent as the first season and maybe even better in general. Fans of the first season should without a doubt check out the second, and even those who haven’t seen the first would most likely enjoy this show if they find the premise entertaining.
The main fault I find isn’t with the show itself, but choices made behind the scenes. While the first season is available on YouTube in full, the second season can only be accessed through Facebook Watch.
Nick Veintimilla can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com and on Twitter @nickveintimill1.
