The Runarounds Feels Like a ’90s Teen Movie for the TikTok Generation

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you crossed a ’90s teen movie with a modern-day rock band, then mixed in all the love, passion, and reckless inspiration of youth? You’d get The Runarounds.

The series follows a group of recent high school graduates from Wilmington, North Carolina, who spend the summer after graduation chasing an almost impossible dream: forming a rock band and shooting for stardom. Over one unforgettable season, they fall in love, get into trouble, and forge bonds that feel like family, all while throwing themselves headfirst into the music. With original songs, tangled romances, and the raw highs and lows of coming-of-age, The Runarounds captures the thrill of risking everything on the edge of adulthood.

From Outer Banks creator Jonas Pate, the fictional series stars the real-life band members, William Lipton, Axel Ellis, Jeremy Yun, Zendé Murdock, and Jesse Golliher, alongside Lilah Pate, Maximo Salas, Kelley Pereira, Marley Aliah, Mark Wystrach, Brooklyn Decker, Hayes Macarthur, and Shea Pritchard.

What makes The Runarounds so special is its aesthetic, it’s drenched in nostalgia without ever feeling dated. The colouring, styling, and framing all lean into that dreamy, grainy energy you’d expect from a ’90s teen movie, but it’s cleverly balanced with modern details. At times, it feels like you’re watching a home video of a band slowly coming together, messy, heartfelt, full of small victories and frustrations. And yet, at the same time, it has the immediacy of following their journey on social media, like you’re scrolling through behind-the-scenes clips of a group of friends chasing something bigger than themselves. That blend makes it feel both timeless and very now.

A huge part of why it works is the chemistry between the cast. On screen, they click the way a real band does, sometimes clashing, sometimes perfectly in sync, always carrying that electric charge that only comes when the right people collide at the right time. Their dynamic makes the performances feel less like acting and more like a jam session where every note, mistake, and triumph matters.

Beyond the music, The Runarounds digs into that universal post-graduation question: What now? It doesn’t shy away from the confusion of stepping out of high school and into a world of expectations, where “success” is supposed to look like college, steady jobs, and a mapped-out future. Instead, it leans into the tension between following the safe path and chasing a dream that could just as easily break your heart as make it. The show captures the very real risks of a music career, the rejections, the doubts, the uphill battles, but balances them with the unshakable hope that drives these characters forward.

Watching the band navigate the ups and downs of their summer, you don’t just hear the music, you feel the growth. Each of them stumbles, changes, and learns to redefine what chasing a dream actually looks like. By the end, The Runarounds isn’t just about making it big; it’s about finding yourself in the chaos, and realizing that success isn’t always the stadium shows or record deals, it’s the friendships, the risks you dared to take, and the belief that maybe, just maybe, you’ll get there.

And then there’s the music. The soundtrack doesn’t just sit in the background, it drives the story. The performances have that raw, local-bar magic that makes you want to dance, scream-sing, and believe in the dream right along with them. Luckily for us, Arista Records is releasing the official soundtrack, meaning we can take those songs straight into our own summer playlists.

The Runarounds isn’t just a show about chasing stardom, it’s about capturing the chaos, heart, and joy of youth before the real world closes in. It feels nostalgic, current, and alive all at once, and it leaves you wanting to relive your own version of one unforgettable summer. For me, it stirred up a kind of nostalgia for dreams I didn’t even have, like watching someone else’s coming-of-age story and somehow finding your own in the echoes.