This YA Drama Is High-Adrenaline Fun

In an interview with MovieWeb about his new show Motorheads, pilot director Neil Burger (Inheritance, Divergent) called the series “a cross between The Fast and the Furious and Friday Night Lights.” It’s got shades of One Tree Hill, too: Showrunner John A. Norris was a producer on that series, and he manipulates the audience’s emotions with skill. With teen angst, slick cars, superbly orchestrated race scenes, and a compelling story line, Motorheads drives its points home with flair.

This 10-episode drama is set in a once-thriving Rust Belt town, where a mission-driven posse of teenage outsiders bonds over their mutual love of street racing. They also have to navigate high school, of course, which makes this otherwise solid outing overuse the teen melodrama card. But what makes Motorheads stand out is its intriguing and believable three-dimensional characters, resulting in pure high-adrenaline fun.

A Premise Rooted in the Past

The standout cast includes Ryan Phillippe (Shooter), Michael Cimino (Love, Victor), Melissa Collazo, Nathalie Kelley, Uriah Shelton, Nicolas Cantu, Drake Rodger, Josh Macqueen and Johnna Dias-Watson (Wednesday). Phillippe plays Logan Maddox, a beleaguered former NASCAR mechanic whose auto shop is on the verge of financial collapse. Logan happily welcomes his family into the fold. They’re struggling to stay afloat, too.

There’s Zac (Cimino), his sister Caitlyn (Collazo) and their mom, Samantha (Kelley), whose relationship with Logan’s brother—and her children’s father—lingers, although it ended years ago. The series cleverly reveals the context of these relationships by creating two compelling and easy-to-track worlds in two different time periods.

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The move back to Samantha’s rural Pennsylvania hometown is meant to be a fresh start, but the teens struggle to fit in. At several points, Samantha questions her decision to move back; that’s when Logan becomes the family’s grounding force, giving this series a compelling — if familiar— family dynamic. Still, this series does an exceptional job with character development and world-building.

Races Off with a Fine Mix of YA Drama and Action

Teen melodrama enters the series through cocksure street racer Harris Bowers (Josh Macqueen), nailing the bully role. Bowers was born into wealth—the Bowers name is on far too many buildings in town — but his girlfriend Alicia (Mia Healy) is ready to kick him to the side, especially given her chemistry with Zac. Meanwhile, Caitlyn gravitates toward town troublemaker Curtis (Uriah Shelton) whose shady brother Ray (Drake Rodger) is controlling a gang of criminal “yes men.”

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Like Riverdale, the series offers the audience glimpses into the past to better understand the present. This is important to Zac and Caitlyn’s storyline, as they try to conceal the fact that their father is Christian Maddox (played by Ryan Phillippe’s son, Deacon Phillippe), a notorious figure who’s still considered “missing.” But secrets are soon revealed, and the series shifts into higher gear when Zac decides he wants to win a street race against Harris and step out of the shadows of his father’s notoriety.

The race scenes are masterfully executed, with passion and razor-sharp editing. As for the actors, Papa Phillippe is the heart and soul of the show. Collazo also stands out as Caitlyn, offering a nice balance of confidence and curiosity; fortunately, her character doesn’t devolve into a standard tough-girl trope. Add Nicolas Cantu as Marcel, a student trying to fit in and another key figure, and you’ve got a solid base for the season’s arc of rebels trying to create change. Everything in between is great fun and thoroughly compelling, making Motorheads a unique YA/action-mystery thriller hybrid. Take the ride.

Motorheads premieres on May 20 on Prime Video. Watch the trailer below.