On the series premiere of Chasing Life, we were introduced to the main characters and attempted to care about them.
Chasing Life follows April, a 24-year-old who is happy. She has a crazy family, including a technology-obsessed grandmother, newly-online-dating mother and an angry sister who continues to act out in her own way. Each of the women in her family literally tell April that they can’t live without her.
April loves her job. She’s an intern at a newspaper and is trying to work her way up the ladder. In the pilot, she starts a romance with a coworker. She makes jokes with another coworker. She seems to be totally happy.
In a cruel twist of fate, April is diagnosed with cancer. Instead of taking it seriously, April lives her life the way it is. Even though her Uncle/doctor wants her to come in, she is nonchalant about the entire thing. Even when her nose bleeds at a bar, she still shrugs it off.
The show isn’t a show about a girl with cancer. It seems to be about a girl who happens to have cancer. She has a personal life that can be spilled out and more problems then just cancer.
It seems interesting. April is sassy and sweet. She isn’t a weak-willed character driven by romance. Her personality is somewhat bubbly but also strong. At one point, she tells her date that she says inappropriate things when she is nervous. The supporting characters aren’t fleshed out enough to be memorable at this point.
The show is OK. It’s a show that, while it is fun to watch, it isn’t the end of the world if you miss it. However, it is wildly better than Twisted, which the show replaced. Chasing Life is interesting but it’s not as good as Pretty Little Liars or Switched at Birth.
One of the biggest negatives for this show is how unrealistic it is. I found myself saying “that’s not how it works” multiple times during the show. Sure, it is more believable then some of the events in Pretty Little Liars, but the things that Chasing Life changes are so minor that it is annoying.
One of things that I question the most is April’s reaction to her cancer diagnosis. She lets her dislike for her uncle to affect what her next step is. She treats the cancer like a little problem that she can put off until later. I completely understand the shock and fear of telling the people she loves about it. However, she isn’t focused on them as she ignores her doctor. She worries about an assignment instead of the fact that her life is literally in danger. That seems unbelievable to me.
I believe, while parts of the show are weak, it will be very interesting to watch. April is a loveable main character and I care what happens to her. If you like the ABC Family shows like Bunheads and Switched at Birth, you’ll like this. ‘
Chasing Life is on ABC Family every Tuesday at 9:00.