Review: Highston – an Amazon Original Series

Highston is a brilliant new comedy written by Bob Nelson, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. and starring Mary Lynn Rajskub, Chris Parnell and Curtis Armstrong among others.  Highston (portrayed by Lewis Pullman) tells the story of a boy in his late teens who has imaginary friends……who are celebrities.  In the pilot episode, this Amazon original series, has Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Shaquille O’Neal offering Highston their opinions and their assistance as he tries and fails to keep himself out of a hospital.  His imaginary friends change frequently and this particular plot device will ultimately allow the writer(s) to take Highston in many different directions.

Highston’s parents (Rajskub and Parnell) love him very much, even if there is something wrong with him, and want to fix him.  He has an older brother Bud (Austin Fryberger) who doesn’t really have much of an opinion about Highston one way or the other and a little sister Pam (Caige Coulter) who loves Highston just the way he is and doesn’t want him to change.  There is a sixth member of household as well, Highston’s Uncle Billy (Curtis Armstrong) who seems to spend the majority of the episode (and quite possibly the series) stoned out of his mind.  Uncle Billy thinks Highston is just fine and truly believes that.

This show is funny and engaging.  Highston himself has a kind of innocence that is honestly a fresh direction for a writer to take with a teen in this day and age.  The episode itself is full of small kindnesses that along with the humor make this show humane and relatable.  This is the kind of show that will make you happy as you watch, you won’t need to think of weighty topics of the world for 25 minutes and the situations and jokes should keep you smiling for a couple of days afterwards.  We need more shows like this!  Let’s hope that Amazon awards this incredible team with an order for more episodes.  You can watch the show at Amazon for free with a Prime membership.  Check it out and cast your vote by reviewing the show.

You can read what Curtis Armstrong has to say about this project in my exclusive interview with him here.