Fox’s new Red Band Society, created by Margaret Nagl, charms viewers with its quick wit, dark humor, and sincere honesty.

With the amount of teen drama revolving around illness now, potential viewers may wonder if Red Band Society is worth all the fuss. The quick answer? It is.

Red Band Society tells the story of a group of seriously ill teenagers in a pediatrics ward. Each sick teen carries his or her own illness, problems, and difficult backstory, later revealed. Jordi (played by Nolan Sotillo) ran the border to rid of his cancerous leg. Leo (Charlie Rowe) lost his leg to cancer and cannot deal with his chemotherapy. Dash (Astro) tries to breathe though cystic fibrosis while also trying to kiss every girl he crosses path with. Emma (Ciara Bravo) starves and studies herself to death, and Kara (Zoe Levin) suffers from having both an enlarged and nonexistent heart.

The show’s characters act and feel realistic to viewers, and their personalities and actions play a large role in this. Unlike many TV shows and movies about sick teens, these teenagers are not portrayed as saints. They swear, break the rules, and conversations feel authentic. However, many real sick teens possess profound wisdom. Picture the show as The Breakfast Club/The Fault in Our Stars hybrid, without the detention or heartbreaking love story.

Sickness may connect these teens, but someone else brings their stories and lives together. Despite remaining in a coma the entire series, Charlie (Griffin Gluck) narrates everyone’s life both in and outside the hospital.  This unique narration style gives an interesting vibe to the series. Most shows follow a similar narrative structure where one main character explains his or her own emotions and actions. By allowing Charlie to give input on his friends, Red Band Society sets itself apart from many other medical and drama shows.

The first episode consists of Charlie introducing each character and why they came to the hospital. Each sick teen displays different struggles they face everyday, while the doctors and nurses personalities come to light. While no overarching theme or plotline has revealed itself yet, Red Band Society still possesses plenty of time to answer unresolved questions and tell new uncovered stories.

I deeply enjoyed the episodes aired so far however, though I cannot help but feel like the show is somewhat unrealistic. While the characters themselves felt realistic, the setting felt too personalized and grand to be a hospital. This may be because I know their “hospital” is actually filmed at the High Museum in Atlanta.

Along with that, I doubted that these teens would possess the amount of freedom they claimed to have. Although I personally have never stayed in a hospital longer than a few hours, it seems unlikely that these seriously ill teenagers would possess the right to roam as they please. Three of the boys snuck out to illegally purchase alcohol, and the new girl harassed the nurses. Meanwhile Emma, the girl with an eating disorder, is never watched while she eats. None of this seems anywhere in the realm of possibility.

Despite these complaints, most viewers, myself included, enjoyed Red Band Society. Between complex characters, dark humor, and quick wit, everyone can find something to enjoy in this new show. Red Band Society provides a new light into the somewhat overdone genre of sick teenagers, and may eventually play a role in redefining the genre altogether.

The Chant’s Grade: B+