My Life With the Walter Boys Season 1 Review

So we can all agree we’re obsessed with My Life with the Walter Boys, right?

Based on the book by Huntley Fitzpatrick, this Netflix series follows Jackie Howard. She’s a girl who moves from a big city to the quiet, tight-knit town of Colorado, where she finds herself living with a chaotic family of teenage boys.

When we meet her in this season, she’s shy and a bit unsure of herself, though she has big dreams of getting into Princeton, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. However, as the series progresses, Jackie begins to open up to her friends, find peace in the simple joys of life (like organizing a ranch wedding or enjoying her first lake party), and, slowly but surely, she becomes more comfortable in this new, unexpected chapter of her life. Although she may be the case, she can’t help but think about the life she left behind, after a tragedy had turned her world upside down.

Things get even more complicated when it comes to Jackie’s love life. She starts a relationship with Alex, but as she spends more time with Cole, sometimes unwillingly, she can’t ignore the undeniable attraction between them.

Meanwhile, her other love interest, Alex, starts off as a fan favorite, the thoughtful, quiet guy, but at times, I quickly started to question his clinginess and weird ultimatums for Jackie and whether he was truly right for her. However, Cole, who is the jock and bad boy of the family and rough around the edges, is much kinder with a soft spot for Jackie. Unfortunately, I questioned a lot of the time whether he was being really genuine or just wanted to get his way – the girl in this case.

The show also introduces a host of other characters who were great for the plot. Isaac, for example, initially seems charming and is given a small storyline that, sadly, fizzles out by later episodes. Another character with a similarly short-lived arc is Danny. Danny is quiet, a lover of theater and movies, and we quickly sympathize with him when we learn he often stays up late watching films, particularly when Cole has a few girls over. There seems to be a potential romance brewing between him and Erin, a subplot that’s hinted at, so I’m hoping the producers will pick it up in Season 2. As we know, the show ended in a huge cliffhanger. So I’m super eager to see what happens next.

And then there’s the matter of Alex’s obliviousness to Kiley. Honestly, that needs to be explored further. The show would benefit from a childhood friends-to-lovers storyline that seems almost too perfect to ignore.

Overall, My Life with the Walter Boys is a sweet, feel-good story about love and friendship. Sure, it follows some familiar tropes—you only need to look at The Summer I Turned Pretty to see the similarities—but it still stands out on its own. There are so many moments that will make you laugh, cringe, and also frustrated with the characters. The series may be predictable at times, but it still feels worth watching.