''21 Thunder'' is a Canadian

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

series which follows star players of an under-21

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

for the fictional Montreal Thunder

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. The series was created by Adrian Wills, Riley Adams, and Kenneth Hirsch in 2016. It features an ensemble cast that includes, among others, RJ Fetherstonhaugh,

Colm Feore Colm Joseph Feore (; born August 22, 1958) is a Canadian actor. A 15-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, he is known for his Gemini-winning turn as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the CBC miniseries '' Trudeau'' (2002), his portrayal of G ...

, Stephanie Bennett,

Emmanuel Kabongo Emmanuel Kabongo (born December 25, 1986) is a Canadian actor and producer. Born and raised in Zaire before it became the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kabongo immigrated to Canada with his family in the 1990s. He began his acting career as a ...

, and

Conrad Pla Conrad Pla (born October 24, 1966) is a Canadian actor and former professional kickboxer. He is best known for founding Tristar Gym and starring in the Canadian television series ''ReGenesis''. Early life Pla was born in Madrid and moved to Can ...

. The series aired in Canada on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

beginning July 31, 2017, to generally positive reviews. ''21 Thunder'' was released in all other countries worldwide on March 1, 2018 as a

Netflix Original Series Netflix is an American global Internet streaming-on-demand media provider that has distributed a number of original streaming television shows, including original series, specials, miniseries, and documentaries and films. Netflix's original pro ...

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although it was removed in March 2022. It received generally positive international reception.

Background

The creators of the show—Adrian Wills, Riley Adams, and Kenneth Hirsch—briefly considered focusing their series on

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

, before settling on soccer. Hirsch explained this decision in an interview with the ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'':

We realized very quickly that every Canadian can relate one way or another to soccer. Either you play it or you watch it ... Also, look at any soccer field across Canada and that field reflects huge diversity, of cultural background, of different segments of society.

In September 2016, CBC announced it had commissioned a one-hour drama series that would follow the star players of an under-21 soccer academy in

. The series was filmed on location, in Montreal, throughout 2016. Later, in a press release, CBC stated that the series will "offer audiences a fresh and diverse perspective on the world's most popular sport."

Cast

Main

* RJ Fetherstonhaugh as Nolan Gallard * Stephanie Bennett as Christy Cook *

as Junior Lolo * Andres Joseph as Alex el Haddadi *

as Albert Rocas * Ryan Pierce as Davey Gunn *

Clark Backo Clark Backo is a Canadian actress. She is most noted for her recurring role as Rosie, Wayne's love interest, in the television series ''Letterkenny''. She has also appeared in the television series '' Remedy'', ''Shoot the Messenger'', '' 21 Thun ...

as Emma Lavigueur * Eileen Li as Lara Yun

Recurring

* Kyle Mac as Special K *

as Declan Gallard * Kevin Claydon as Stefan Arnaud * Jonathan Kim as James Tran * Kimberly Laferriere as Marie Tremblay *

Gabrielle Graham Gabrielle Graham is a Canadian actress. She first appeared in the Amazon Prime series '' The Expanse'' (2017). Later that year, she went on to star as recurring role Fatima Gossa in the Netflix series ''21 Thunder''. She continued appearing in ...

as Fatima Gossa * Thamela Mpumlwana as Sly Lolo * Cristina Rosato as Ana Messina

Episodes

Reception

Upon its release in Canada, the series received generally positive reviews; John Doyle of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' called it "highly enjoyable and addictive, even if you're just a casual soccer fan." Further, Doyle wrote that "It's an excellent melodrama that reaches into the lavishly exotic and coarse world of club soccer and pulls out stories and characters that are believable and compelling. ...it's not the male-centric drama you might expect. There is a sharp edge to the female characters. Mostly it is fast, action-packed, sort-of realistic and gripping. It's fine entertainment, and it's one of those dramas about sports that succeeds." After the fourth episode, Greg David of TV, eh? wrote: "I said off the top how pleasantly surprised I've been with 21 Thunder's first season. The writing is taut and the characters are anything but cookie-cutter; 21 Thunder has turned into my sleeper hit of the summer."

Johanna Schneller Johanna Schneller is an American-born Canadian film journalist and television personality, currently the host of the film talk show '' The Filmmakers'' on CBC Television. A freelance celebrity interviewer for such publications as '' Vanity Fair'', ...

of the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' wrote a less enthusiastic review, in which she claimed that the series "has promise, but not many kicks," concluding that "the show is freshest when it keeps its head in the game." With its international launch on Netflix in March 2017, '' Vanity Fair'' included ''21 Thunder'' in its "A-List: What to Watch in March". In her review of April 3, 2018, Rebecca Farley of

Refinery29 Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Vice Media. History Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Refinery29 i ...

calls ''21 Thunder'' "Canada's answer to the Gossip Girl, and writes of the characters: "Now that they're all approaching 21, they have to either launch professional soccer careers or pivot into something more sustainable. Ergo, internal conflict. Ergo, external conflict. Ergo, sexual relations catalyzed by external conflict. The soccer shirts will be removed, declarations of love will happen on porches (and in the physical therapy room, and on the soccer field), and, heck, an arsonist might make a guest appearance! This show really does have everything, including a much-needed dose of diversity."

References

External links

* * {{Netflix original current series CBC Television original programming Fictional association football television series 2017 Canadian television series debuts 2010s Canadian drama television series Soccer on Canadian television Television shows set in Montreal Television shows filmed in Montreal