Poppie Platt

Nothing happens. The main “characters” speak in platitudes and their talent – dancing – is shown only in erratic short clips. Perhaps if you’re from Dallas and obsessed with the Cowboys, you’ll be more engrossed, but honestly, I wouldn’t count on it.

It’s the perfect example of the Netflix formula: soapy, cheesy fun led by unbelievably good-looking actors. It’s not The Sopranos. It’s not even Gilmore Girls. It’s just shiny, addictive escapism.

You’re just left cringing. A core plot about a fraternity hazing gone wrong, which results in a powerful Congressman’s son (Khobe Clarke) being brain damaged, feels half-soaked, while the relationship between the main siblings plays as icky rather than sexually-charged.

Fifteen-Love could have been a hard-hitting study of why elite sports so often breed predators. Instead, its over-stylised and lacking depth, the main characters bent into dramatic delivery that fails to convince.

Razor-sharp writing and great performances make the six episodes deliciously bingeable.

Disney’s series is unapologetically a children’s show. But the stellar production values – the monsters look genuinely terrifying and the battle scenes are electric – coupled with the original story’s richness make for a series the entire family will gobble up over those fuzzy, lazy days before Christmas.

Purists might recoil at the soundtrack, the slang and the sexiness, but all in all this is a fabulous way to reintroduce Wharton to the world. Especially when compared to Julian Fellowes’s lavish but dreadfully dull The Gilded Age, here is a period drama that has managed to hit the sweet spot between modern whimsy and actual intellect.

Dramatic theme music aside, this is hardly revelatory stuff.

Where the series falls flat is in its decision to intersperse the (interesting) archive and interviews with incoherent dramatic reconstruction, set against grating retro lighting and a horror-movie soundtrack. A story this juicy doesn't need the frills.

Sometimes, the wholesome teen angle can hold the series back – its representations of racism and emotional upheaval feel too Disney-fied, sterilised, brushed under the carpet rather than fully explored. .... If the serious parts of the series had received a more adult spin, this would be a brilliant show; instead, it's merely a good one.