Sneakerheads – Netflix Season 1 Review

Episode Guide

100% Pure Adrenaline
Hustling Backwards
The Match
CSI: Sandwich
Jason F**king Statham
Dick Pic

Sneakerheads is listed as a comedy but you’ll be hard-pressed to find laughs here. This shoe-obsessed series revolves around a group of selfish men and women chasing materialistic items. Or shoes, to be more specific. The big question here though derives from just what the message of this show actually is.

Is having a family a bad thing? Should we all embrace capitalism and material wealth? Or will a simple “I love you” make up for deception and lies? What about addiction? Behind the façade of jokes and slapstick elements, this is exactly what Sneakerheads dives into without any real enthusiasm or drive to tackle the topics it brings up.

The story wastes absolutely no time setting up the scene with a slew of expository-driven dialogue. Devin is a stay-at-home Dad and looks after his kids while his wife leads a successful business career. You see, Devin is a former sneaker-addict and unfortunately temptation sets in. He decides to deceive his wife and go and buy some expensive shoes as a treat for himself.

One thing leads to another and Devin winds up splashing out $5000 for a worthless investment that puts him in a serious hole. Deceiving his wife by telling her it’s fraud, Devin sets out to “flip” his way to success and reclaim his losses.

With the help of his questionable friend Bobby (who we’ll discuss in a minute), Devin sets out to try and make amends. Now, outside the US this term of “flipping” may actually be quite alien. As a 32 year old completely out of touch with youth slang, I had no idea what this actually meant.

It turns out flipping means purchasing a revenue-generating asset and quickly reselling it for profit. This forms the crux of what happens in Sneakerheads, building up to the finale where nothing is really resolved and it’s revealed that no one’s actually that angelic and trustworthy after all.

The single biggest issue (aside from the algorithm-generated screenplay at work here), comes from the characters. Devin is swayed by peer pressure and fears that he’s now out of touch with the kids of today, seemingly made worse given he’s a Dad.

These fears are only exacerbated by Bobby who’s supposed to be his friend but writes off his marriage and kids like they’re the worst thing in the world. The supporting characters that crop up along the way do offer some variety but have very little growth across the season.

I do appreciate the characters have some semblance of an arc over the 6 episodes but first impressions are important and Sneakerheads does not do a good job of it.

Ultimately though Sneakerheads is a comedy that fails to bring the laughs with it. This is probably one series I’d recommend “flipping” the channel off and watching something else.

Click Here To Go Back To Our TV Show Reviews