Hulu’s ‘All Night’ Makes Our Wildest High School Dreams Come True

Photo courtesy of Hulu and AwesomenessTV.

All Night is a teen comedy series that premiered on Hulu in 2018. The series follows a group of high school graduates at a wild grad night party and do whatever it takes to make their wildest high school dreams come true. There is only 1 season and no new seasons have been released since its debut on the streaming service. The series features an ensemble cast: Brec Bassinger, Jake Short, Jenn McCallister, Eva Gutowski, Teala Dunn, Chester Rushing, Austin North, among many others. Each episode’s runtime is between 22 and 24 minutes long.

The show introduces us to a slew of recent high school graduates. Let me break them all down for you.

Brec Bassinger portrays Roni. Roni is a prime example of the misunderstood popular girl in film and television. I guess you could say it’s a trope. Roni goes into grad night with a boyfriend, Oz, and comes out a changed person. Roni is best friends with Lyssee and Alexis.

Jenn McCallister portrays Deanna. Deanna is best friends with Cassie and Fig. Her time at grad bash gets complicated when she reveals a big secret to Fig.

Eva Gutowski portrays Lyssee. Lyssee is best friends with Roni and Alexis. A not-so-big secret of her own is revealed later in the season. She’s goofy and not afraid of being her authentic self.

Teala Dunn portrays Alexis. Alexis is best friends with Lyssee and Roni. Alexis harbors a secret of her own that is later revealed in the season.

Jake Short portrays Fig. Fig is best friends with Deanna and Cassie. Fig is in hot water when it comes to a possible relationship with his high school crush, Roni while Deanna reveals a huge secret to him.

Allie Grant portrays Melinda. Melinda is the valedictorian of her class and gives the big speech at their graduation. The season makes her classmates realize she’s not who they think she is.

Austin North portrays Oz. Oz goes into grad night with a girlfriend, Roni, and comes out a complete jerk. He disappears after a few episodes.

Tetona Jackson portrays Cassie. Cassie is best friends with Deanna and Fig. She is friends with Lyssee and Roni. Cassie is openly a part of the LGBTQ+ community. She is entangled with a classmate and struggles to adapt to changing conditions.

Chester Rushing portrays Cody. Cody is a nerd who gets stuck in the janitor’s room with Stefania.

Chanel Celaya portrays Stefania. Stefania is a misunderstood girl who gets stuck in the janitor’s room with Cody.

Ty Doran portrays Bryce. Bryce is a cocky graduate who creates a plan to capture the heart of a teacher’s wife. Yeah, it gets bad. Trust me.

Tom Maden portrays Nino. Nino received his G.E.D and decides to attend grad night to get an authentic high school experience within a span of 12 hours. He connects with Deanna and the two hit it off.

Tequan Richmond portrays Christian. Christian is Cassie’s brother. He becomes involved with Melinda’s scheme and sparks begin to fly. He’s captain of the lacrosse team.

Kate Flannery portrays Principal Saperstein. Principal Saperstein is in charge of grad night and makes sure everything is running smoothly. She becomes annoying on many occasions throughout the season.

All Night may be a predictable series but it explores the complexity of teen friendships, love, and life decisions. While these items may not present as complex, the show does get more complex as it progresses. It’s a good show to watch if you just want to escape.

As far as the characters go, I didn’t find myself attached to any of them. While many of them do go through character development, it wasn’t enough for me to become attached. It’s not a bad thing since there’s only 1 season. I enjoyed that there wasn’t a main character or characters. I liked that it focused on multiple characters. I do feel like it got a little dizzying at times because it felt inconsistent with jumping from one story to a completely different one.

There were a lot of unrealistic aspects to the show. A 12-hour high school graduation party that is hosted by the school and the principal with no phones and no leaving. I mean that’s pretty crazy. The sex and the drinking wasn’t shocking at all. This was pretty expected.

I mean I would to see another season but I do think that Hulu only ordered 1 season as it follows the grads on grad night. I would love to see another season to see where all the characters are. Are they in college? Are they traveling abroad? There are many questions I still would love to see answered but I do think the ending was satisfying. It’s not the end of the world if a second season is never made, at least for me.

Overall, I enjoyed this series. I recommend it if you’re looking for something casual to watch.

 

 

All Night is available to stream exclusively on Hulu.

Creator: Jason Ubaldi

Cast: Brec Bassinger, Jake Short, Jenn McCallister, Eva Gutowski, Teala Dunn, Chester Rushing, Austin North

Producers: Jordan Levin, Shelley Zimmerman, Brett Bouttier