Red Band Society is about a group of teenagers who all have different things that have put them in the hospital. Each one has a battle to survive and lessons to learn. The patients (Leo, Charlie, Kara, Dash, and Emma) all become a close-knit family through the struggles they undergo. They bother each other, they tease, but most importantly they are there for each other when it’s most essential.
Narration by Charlie, a comatose boy, gives the show a sense of humor that could not have easily been written. Able to hear everything around him, Charlie has a point of view the other characters can’t give. He can see the hope some can’t see at times showing viewers that the show is not all sad but does have some happiness.
The show is all about surviving not just the bodies and minds that are betraying the characters but life itself. It is showing people with unfortunate situations trying to live a somewhat normal life. They take everything moment by moment, not day by day. While talking to Charlie, Leo recalls a conversation between them while he was under anesthesia from surgery. He tells Charlie, “You said something that only tonight I’ve come to understand. You said luck isn’t getting what you want. It’s surviving what you don’t want. And, man… I’m… surviving.”
Red Band Society has the potential to be a gut-wrenching, laugh-inducing, and tissue-needing show. The premiere was overwhelming, touching, and funny. At every moment and every turn, viewers were able to see every heartbreaking detail. The way the teenagers and staff appreciate the small things like dancing, a small “party” with friends, or a red band reminding them of something to give them strength.