Rescue: HI-Surf made an early splash on Sunday, riding the wave of an NFL doubleheader before it officially premieres on Monday in its regular timeslot (Fox, 9/8c). So let’s dive into the episode, shall we?
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For creator Matt Kester, a Hawaii native and lifelong surfer, the new series is a tribute to the men and women who keep the North Shore safe. “From the time I was a kid, lifeguards were a ubiquitous presence,” he tells TVLine. “Everybody has a ton of respect for them. The waves get big here, they get dangerous, and every time you go out there, you feel a little bit better knowing they’re in the tower watching over you.”
And Rescue: HI-Surf has rounded up quite the crew to fill its tower, led by Sonny (Robbie Magasiva), a wayward captain trapped in a fog of unaddressed grief. He oversees a team that includes a stoic, Abercrombie & Fitch type named Will (Adam Demos), a hopeless party boy named Laka (Kekoa Kekumano), and an overall badass named Em (Arielle Kebbel). They’re joined in the premiere by Kainalu (Alex Aiono) and Hina (Zoe Cipres), newbies each with something to prove.
Thickening the plot is a past romance between Em and Will, “soul mates” whose inevitable reunion is sure to create some emotional wreckage — especially for Will’s poor fiancée. “As the season progresses, we get much more into the complicated backstory of their relationship,” Kester teases. “A lot is revealed about them.”
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But it was Em’s connection to another character that captured our curiosity in Sunday’s premiere, specifically when she casually referred to Sonny as her “uncle.” What we thought was a mid-episode reveal, however, turned out to be a reveal of our own ignorance about Hawaiian culture.
“In Hawaii, a person who is your elder and you have a great deal of respect for, whether or not they’re a blood relative, you’ll typically call them your auntie or uncle,” Kester explains. “I distinctly remember the point in my life where all my friend’s and my kids’ friends started calling me uncle. You feel kind of old in that moment. But the islands are small, and we’re all kind of connected on them, and that’s just part of the culture.”
Did you enjoy hanging ten with the Rescue: HI-Surf crew, or was one beach day enough for you? Weigh in via our polls below, then drop a comment with your full review.
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