Summary
The Netflix series struggles to find its feet and once it does, it fails to lace the story together.
This review of Netflix’s Sneakerheads season 1 contains zero spoilers. The comedy series will be released on the streaming service on September 25, 2020.
Gary Vaynerchuk constantly talks about “flipping” on his podcasts to an insufferable degree. It’s one of his main hobbies outside of building businesses. When he talks about trading baseball cards, I couldn’t get my head around the passion behind it, until I realised he was linking it to attention. Yes, attention sells. Netflix’s Sneakerheads is all about that “flipping” life and focusing on untapped attention to make a profit but also be part of a community of like-minded people. Sometimes the social life is just as good as the game.
Netflix’s Sneakerheads follows Devin, a man that has lost his way and has become the ghost of his former self. His friend Bobby encourages Devin to revisit a passion of his — sneakers. He believes Devin has become so indoctrinated by his family life that he’s forgotten what he used to live for. The series throws the two characters into a world of buying and selling sneakers and finding a quick profit.
Sneakerheads taps into the importance of sneakers — how regular buyers are so transfixed on different designs and brands and fall in love with their inventory. The Netflix series seems to understand how trends and nostalgia works, which mixes together frequently in season 1, as characters overexert themselves for their hobby.
Sneakerheads is a comedy that solely focuses on Devin’s personal life; his wife and kid are not aware that he’s using their savings to invest in footwear which puts him in a position where one wrong move will get him divorced — the series constantly shows Bobby selling Devin the dream only to be let down. For a 6-chapter mini-series, it’s surprising how many times they repeat that theme in each episode. It goes into a cycle of Bobby introducing a new plan, Devin accepting that plan and then instantly fuming when they do not get their rewards.
Sneakerheads season 1 exhausts its concept rather quickly; once it rummages through the underground sneaker stores and the savviness of the “flip” life it reduces in appeal. It becomes a repetitive story that will surprise many considering it’s a mere 20-minutes per episode. The writers struggled to find depth despite the satisfactory comedy. The overall objective is outlandish and it’s the only aspect of the series that keeps you engaged.
The Netflix series struggles to find its feet and once it does, it fails to lace the story together.
