Gavin Grant

Just after watching episode one I knew this would be a hate-watch instead of the re-connecting with one of my favorite books series ever. A bizarre mishmash of current-day social and political issues ham-fisted into a series with the façade of Anne of Green Gables, and infused with drama so over-the-top that it goes all the way around and becomes comedic. Honestly surprised a Donald Trump look-alike hasn't made an appearance yet and told Anne to make him a sandwich while he builds a fence to wall off the Trinidadians and gay couples... or maybe I just missed it in the sea of cartoonishly evil men that plague this show. The tone of this series makes as much sense as Elmo giving a scathing speech about the Holocaust. Not to say there isn't a place to talk about those serious issues, but come on, Anne is a series about a girl who considers her red hair and freckled face to be a great tragedy; it isn't meant to be a commentary on every progressive issue under the sun. It's sad because, if this tv show has something going for it is its production values, which are undeniably top-notch. It could've aimed to dethrone the classic 1985 series for best adaptation so far, but alas, the writers seem to have no respect whatsoever for the book(s), and just gladly ignore the many, many great, fun stories Montgomery wrote about Anne and the people of Avonlea in general. For me it's just as bleh as any of Hollywood's many gritty reboots. Whatever thematic depth the writers meant is lost in trying too hard to do something different and modern. That said, I'm looking forward to season 3, and the question is: how many sharks can gritty-Anne jump?