Based on YA novel Save Me by German author Mona Kasten, Prime Video\u2019s<\/a> Maxton Hall adaptation is subtitled The World Between Us, alluding to the class wars that arise in the show\u2019s snobby high school setting. But the truth is that there\u2019s a world between Maxton Hall and the other teen shows that it tries to emulate, falling far short of the standard set by <\/span>Gossip Girl<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>\u00c9lite<\/span><\/a>, and yes, even the Gossip Girl reboot.<\/span><\/p>\n The first scene introduces us to an insufferable, ab-tastic douchebag named James Beaufort (Damian Hardung), who skates through life on a perfectly sculpted abdomen and daddy\u2019s money. Life is easy for James, or so we\u2019re led to believe, because there are already hints that being rich and beautiful and deemed perfect by society may not be all it\u2019s cracked up to be. <\/span><\/p>\n But before you shed a tear for James, episode 1 then shifts its focus onto the arrival of scholarship student Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten), who\u2019s constantly forced to prove herself in a world that favours the privileged.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When Ruby stumbles across a dangerous secret at Maxton Hall, James casually tries to buy her off, knowing how much she needs the money. But Ruby refuses to give in \u2013 that is until sparks fly between this (not so) unlikely pair and they\u2019re both tempted to give into something else\u2026 their DESIRE!<\/span><\/p>\n The first episode ticks off about every cliche you could expect and then some. Do-gooder heroine? Check. Rich bad boy who\u2019s nicer than he seems? Check. Improbable chemistry that cuts through the class divide because they\u2019re both just so damn hot<\/em> and see something in each other that no one else can? Check, well, sort of.<\/span><\/p>\n Maxton Hall\u2019s tagline is \u2018Our favourite subject: their chemistry\u2019, yet the so-called chemistry between James and Ruby isn\u2019t going to trouble the likes of \u00c9lite anytime soon.<\/span><\/p>\n The acting is wooden across the board, to the point where it\u2019s hard to differentiate between each performance and the actual wood used to build Maxton Hall. Some of the supporting cast fare a tad better, but even the most talented actors would struggle to bring such hackneyed writing to life with any actual flair. <\/span><\/p>\n Case in point: the philosophy class debates that try to sound smarter than they are or the, frankly, bizarre metaphors Ruby uses in her narration. Skip to the end of episode one for a \u201cchained elephant\u201d monologue that defies belief.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Given all this, it might come as a surprise to hear that Maxton Hall was created and written by Daphne Ferraro, a writer who previously worked on <\/span>Dark<\/span><\/a>, Netflix\u2019s twisty trans-dimensional masterpiece. The two shows couldn\u2019t be further apart, which isn\u2019t to say that teen high school dramas can\u2019t be layered and well-written too. <\/span>Recent YA hits like Young Royals and even Red, White & Royal Blue have mined far more interesting material out of class and cultural divides in the past few years, just to name a few.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Episode 2 of Maxton Hall tries to deepen the story somewhat by switching the perspective over to James, revealing more about his inner life than Ruby could possibly know at this point via flashbacks and narration of his own. Unfortunately, there\u2019s nothing new here that we haven\u2019t seen or heard before, and that\u2019s still the case even with what could have been a fresh new German perspective on the genre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing intrinsically wrong with cliches on this scale if there\u2019s something else going on to draw you in, something smarter. Teen efforts like Riverdale<\/a>, for example, thrive by toying around with convention, but there\u2019s little to recommend in this case when the writing and acting is so lifeless.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While there is something to be said for mindless escapism, you\u2019re actually much better off watching older teen fare like Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars instead. Those shows helped establish the tropes this one borrows from so readily, and with far more charisma.<\/span><\/p>\n The quote \u201cSomeone like you can\u2019t touch people like us\u201d is directed towards Ruby in the show at one point, but the same could also be said for Maxton Hall in comparison to all the other teen shows that came before it.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Ruby](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/05\/maxton-hall-prime-8c8ae55.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Maxton")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>![\"James](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/05\/maxton-hall-amazon-prime-5fb00d7.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Maxton")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>