Based on Crystal Moselle’s critically acclaimed feature Skate Kitchen, HBO’s new six-episode half-hour series Betty follows a diverse group of young women navigating their lives through New York’s predominantly male-oriented skateboarding scene. Dede Lovelace, Moonbear, Nina Moran, Ajani Russell, and Rachelle Vinberg, who all starred in the original film, return for the series.

Moselle’s debut documentary Wolfpack earned her the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Best Documentary at Edinburgh, and a Cinema Eye Honors Award, as well as an MTV Movie Awards Best Documentary nomination, while Skate Kitchen earned Crystal Moselle a Best of Next nomination at Sundance and an Honourable Mention at Outfest.

Betty has a very impressive 93% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics consensus is, “Earnest, audacious, and effortlessly cool, Betty captures the spirit of skating and friendship with style.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tQu2P5n4Bc

And if that wasn’t enough, below are more sample reviews used to describe it so far:

“It’s Larry Clark’s Kids without the rebel fetishism and suffocating nihilism. Mostly, though, Betty is a tribute to these women who Moselle adores, and who wants you to adore as much as she does.” Rolling Stone

“The style is vérité, the stunts are hair-raising… But this Betty is mostly just funny, with a memorable cast.” The Wall Street Journal

“Above all else, the show is a spunky, infectious tale of community and agency. Moselle and company continue to find an undercurrent of youthful innocence amid the inherent rebellion of their freewheeling lifestyle (casual drug use and all) that makes these figures just as true and well-rounded as their real-life counterparts. Brazen and delightfully gruesome at times, Betty transcends the subculture it centers to provide a story of strength for all girls.” AVClub

“Betty looks like how being a teenager feels. Shot during a vibrant New York City summer, the show zips alongside its characters as they weave through traffic, across parks, over bridges on their skateboards. When it slows down, it’s to take in the view, have a laugh, shoot the shit. But within minutes it’s inevitably off and running into the blinking sun again, winding down the city streets with such visceral verve that you can practically feel the wind whipping through your own hair through the screen… Every actor is the kind of good that’s harder to absorb at first; they’re so immediately comfortable in their roles and rhythms that the show often feels more like a documentary than a scripted show. But it is, and an especially well-plotted one given that it only has six episodes to give everyone a decently satisfying arc.” Variety

We will lend our voice and see if we can add to the above rave reviews. Thanks to the Showmax team we’ll be seeing it first, so as always be on the lookout for our full thoughts on it real soon. Even before watching though, judging purely from the trailer and the info supplied, it won’t be hard to like this one.