I’ve been watching John From Cincinnati and I really dig it. The acting is weird–sometimes a bit flat, and sometimes just strange. The premise of the whole show is strange, though, so I’m never really sure if the weird acting is intentional. Also, I’ve only seen three episodes so maybe it’ll become clearer down the line.
The show is about three generations of a surfing family (Yost) in Imperial Beach, CA and a seemingly slow new guy who drops in on their lives. The new guy, John, clearly isn’t human. But it’s only clear to the viewer, not to the Yost family. I’m saying that John isn’t human only because he can make stuff materialize and he doesn’t poop or pee (the script kinda goes overboard to point this out). Lots of surf themes and spirituality themes run through the show, which is a great mix for me. I love it.
The back story on some of the cast is pretty interesting, too. The youngest Yost, Shaun, is played by Greyson Fletcher, who is Christian Fletcher’s son. Christian Fletcher was an early surfing aerialist, and in the show Shaun’s dad, Butchie, was credited with popularizing aerials in surfing. In addition to being a former surf star, Butchie is a burned out drug addict which makes the parallels between Greyson’s real life and show life even more interesting, since his dad Christian went through a period of time where he dropped out of the surf scene and became too involved with drugs. Finally, Greyson’s grandpa and grandma are Herbie and Dibi Fletcher who are well-known in the SoCal surfing community (even the global surfing community). Herbie and Dibi are consultants to the show.
More interestingness: my surfing buddy Pete has another surfing buddy, Steve, who writes for the show. In fact, I only heard about the show from Pete when Steve started working on it. Previously Steve served various stints with Surfer Magazine and Surfing Magazine as editor and publisher. Steve is also Tony Hawk’s older brother.
Kem Nunn, author of The Dogs of Winter, which is a decent surf-themed novel, is one of the creators of the show. There are tons of surf community connections all through the show. For example, the surfshop employee Kai is played by Keala Kennelly who is a well-known surfer/competitor. There are also cameo appearances throughout by pro surfers. Just that angle alone makes for fun watching.
The spirituality themes are scripted with a pretty heavy hand but perfectly matched with the surfing themes. I think it brings an element of intrigue and authenticity to the show. Most surfers I know find a certain depth of spiritual satisfaction in surfing. I’m sure there are other genres or subcultures that’d also be well matched for the spirituality themes, but this matchup works well for me and, I’d guess, most other surfers with spiritual interests.
I’m probably a terribly unsophisticated viewer, though, since lots of critics are panning the show altogether. I bet the critics don’t surf.
