A fresh take from an all-Indigenous cast and crew on the classic coming-of-age story full of funny, heartwarming moments between lifelong friends.

In Reservation Dogs, a group of four Indigenous teenagers and lifelong friends are a year past a tragedy that shook their lives and their community when they make a pact to leave their rural Oklahoma reservation and move to California. They dream of starting new lives and fulfilling their purpose. Though young, they will do whatever it takes to make it happen—rob, steal, hustle, and save every penny they can. As they work towards their goal, they encounter more hardship and learn about themselves, each other, and their community. Reservation Dogs takes the classic teenage coming-of-age story, gives it a true-to-life Native American perspective, and adds in the comedy that helps make the difficulties in life just a little easier to handle.

I started watching Reservation Dogs because one of its creators is Taika Waititi, who I’ve always loved because of his ability to create relatable characters who, though they might experience hardship, learn important lessons about life while finding the humor in the situation. This was definitely true in Reservation Dogs! The four main characters, and even all the supporting characters, are exactly what I expected—so much depth, complexity, and relatability. And I’m a forty-plus-year-old white lady! I’ve long since left my teenage years behind and I don’t have the experience of being Native American, but I loved this show.  

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I enjoyed learning about Indigenous culture, tradition, and life while at the same time relating hard to the shared difficulties all humans encounter throughout our lives…and laughing out loud along the way. This is a great show to watch with older kids, too, as it can be a great starting point for conversations or just good bonding time. There are currently two seasons on Hulu and it has been renewed for a third! I can’t wait!