''On My Block'' is an American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

series, created by

Lauren Iungerich Lauren Emily Iungerich ( ; born September 14, 1974) is a writer, director and showrunner known for ''Awkward.'' Early life Iungerich was born in Los Angeles, California to social worker mother, Viola Iungerich (née Dube), and attorney father ...

, Eddie Gonzalez, and Jeremy Haft. The first season, consisting of ten episodes, was released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on March 16, 2018. On April 13, 2018, the series was renewed for a second season and it premiered on March 29, 2019. On April 29, 2019, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on March 11, 2020. On January 29, 2021, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season which premiered on October 4, 2021. The series stars Sierra Capri,

Jason Genao Jason Genao (born ) is an American actor. He is best known for his appearance as the character Ruby Martinez on the Netflix show '' On My Block''.Contreras, Russell"Netflix's 'On My Block' hits race, poverty with teen humor" ''The Santa Fe New Me ...

, Brett Gray, Diego Tinoco, and

Jessica Marie Garcia Jessica Marie Garcia (born March 23, 1987) is an American actress. She made her acting debut as Sierra on the drama series ''Huge'' (2010), and subsequently played Becky on the sitcom '' The Middle'' (2012–2014). Her breakthrough came with pla ...

. The series's diverse cast, story-lines, and performances were praised by critics.

Premise

In a rough inner-city

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

neighborhood, called Freeridge, four teens find their lifelong friendship tested as they begin high school.

Cast and characters

Main

* Sierra Capri as Monsé Finnie, a headstrong Afro-Latina tomboy, who serves as the leader of her friend group. Raised by her single father, she is in love with one of her best friends, Cesar. *

as Ruben "Ruby" Martinez Jr., a smart-aleck math whiz of Mexican descent often serving as the group's conscience * Brett Gray as Jamal Turner, the nerd of the group, who is

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

. In season 1, he is drawn into finding a hidden treasure scheme surrounding RollerWorld. * Diego Tinoco as Cesar Diaz, an intelligent

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

teen forced into gang life once his brother is released from prison, putting a strain on a blossoming relationship with Monsé *

as Jasmine Flores (seasons 2–4; recurring season 1), a classmate of the group, who has a romantic obsession with Ruby. She and Ruby start a relationship during Season 3. *

Julio Macias Julio Arturo Macias (born March 20, 1990) is a Mexican actor. Following a series of cameo appearances, Macias had his breakthrough playing Oscar Diaz on the comedy-drama series ''On My Block'' (2018–2021), for which he received two Imagen Awa ...

as Oscar "Spooky" Diaz (seasons 3–4; recurring seasons 1–2), Cesar's older brother and a high-level member of the Santos gang * Peggy Blow as Marisol Martinez 'Abuelita' (season 4; recurring season 1–3), Ruby's grandmother

Recurring

Ronni Hawk Ronni Hawk is an American actress. She is known for playing Rachel Diaz in the Disney Channel comedy series '' Stuck in the Middle'', and for playing Olivia on the Netflix comedy series ''On My Block''. Life and career Hawk began dancing at the a ...

as Olivia (season 1), a friend of Ruby's family who moves in with them after her parents are deported, and Ruby's love interest. She is shot by Latrelle and dies in the season 1 finale. *

Jahking Guillory Jahking Guillory (born May 14, 2001), is an American rapper and actor, best known for his starring role in the 2016 film, ''Kicks''. Guillory appears in ''The Chi'' on Showtime, and the Netflix series ''On My Block'' as Latrelle. He was born and ...

as Latrelle (season 1–2; guest season 4), a former classmate of the group and a member of the Prophet$, a longtime rival gang to the Santos *

Emilio Rivera Emilio Rivera (born February 24, 1961) is an American film and television actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known for his portrayal of Marcus Álvarez in ''Sons of Anarchy'' and its spin-off, '' Mayans M.C.'' He is also known for his dep ...

as Chivo (season 1–2, 4), (season 3, voice only), a gardener and former Santos gang member caught up in Jamal's hidden treasure scheme *

Paula Garcés Paula Garcés (born March 20, 1974) is a Colombian and American actress. She is known for her appearance in films such as ''Clockstoppers'', '' Man of the House'' and the ''Harold & Kumar'' series, and on TV shows such as ''CSI: Miami'', ''On ...

as Geny Martinez, Ruby's mother * Eric Neil Gutierrez as Ruben Martinez, Ruby's father * Danny Ramirez as Mario Martinez (season 1–2), Ruby's older brother * Kylie Samaniego as Luisa Martinez (season 1–2), Ruby's little sister * Julian Lerma as Luis Martinez (season 1–2), Ruby's little brother * Reggie Austin as Monty Finnie, Monsé's father. A truck driver, mostly on the road away from Monsé to work *

Lisa Marcos Lisa Marcos is a Canadian actress and former model. Career She began her career as a model at the age of 14 years but after eight years, decided to pursue her passion for acting and approached a talent agency. Soon after her acting career began ...

as Selena "Julia" Whitman (season 1–2), Monsé's biological mother who left at a young age, and reconnected with in season 2 *

Eme Ikwuakor Eme Ikwuakor ( ; born August 13, 1984) is an Nigerian-American actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Ink'' (2009), ''On My Block'' (2018), and Gorgon in ''Inhumans'' (2017). Biography Eme Ikwuakor was born to Patricia and Killian Ikwuakor a ...

as Dwayne Turner, Jamal's father. Former Freeridge High School football player and owner of Dwayne's Joint, a local restaurant * Raushanah Simmons as Mrs. Turner, Jamal's mother * Rob Murat as Coach Ron (season 1–2, 4), the Freeridge High School football coach and Sex Ed teacher * Angela Gibbs as Rosé Westbrook (season 1, 3), a former Soul Train dancer caught up in Jamal's hidden treasure scheme. Former best friend of Stacy, aka Cuchillos, leader of the Santos. * Shoshana Bush as Amber (season 2; guest season 4), Mario's girlfriend. * Ada Luz Pla as Cuchillos (season 3), the leader of the Santos before her death *

Mallory James Mahoney Mallory James Mahoney (born January 31, 2005) is an American teen actress, who is known for her roles as Destiny Baker on the Disney Channel series ''Bunk'd'' (2018–present), and Ainsley Riches on the Netflix series ''On My Block'' (2020). ...

as Ainsley Riches (season 3) * Gilberto Ortiz as Cuete (season 3-4), a 19th Street gang member * Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson as Kendra (season 3; guest season 4), Jamal's love interest * Ian Casselberry as Ray (season 3-4), Cesar and Spooky's father. Former Santos gang member before going to prison when Cesar and Spooky were kids. Worked at Dwayne's Joint after his release. * Nikki Rodriguez as Vero (season 4), Cesar's girlfriend * Andrea Cortés as Isabel (season 4), Oscar's wife

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2019)

Season 3 (2020)

Season 4 (2021)

Reception

Critical response

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Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season an approval rating of 95% based on 22 reviews, and a weighted average rating of 7.83/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Charming, realistic, and focused on underrepresented communities, ''On My Block'' is the respite from stylized teen dramas you didn't know you needed.".

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 69 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Trey Mangum of ''

Shadow and Act ''Shadow and Act'' is a 1964 collection of essays by Ralph Ellison. Subject The writings encompass the two decades that began with Ellison's involvement with African-American political activism and print media in Harlem, Ellison's emergence ...

'' wrote, "''On My Block'' is different than anything we've seen on television in relation to the experience of growing up. The stars are young people of color, dealing with real issues that happen in communities that they have to wrangle with during this pivotal time in their lives. For a lovely story about friendship and timely societal issues, along with superb youth acting, here is your next binge." Alexis Gunderson of '' Paste'' said, "When the final credits hit, it's clear that not one second of the season's 10 short episodes was wasted: Every line was measured out, every background track meticulously calibrated, every initially jarring tonal shift set up precisely for a singular cumulative effect that lands in the season's final moments like a punch to the chest you realize too late you should have seen coming from a mile away." Matt Seitz of New York Magazine wrote, "One of the many remarkable things about this series is how it folds crime and the awareness of potential violence into everyday life, which is something white sitcoms never do unless it's a Very Special Episode." The second season has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The third season holds an approval rating of 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The website's critics consensus states, "''On My Block'' still rings true in a buoyant third season that interweaves joy and peril with the series' signature authenticity."

Awards and nominations

Spin-off

On September 27, 2021, a spin-off of ''On My Block'', titled as ''Freeridge'' was ordered to series by Netflix. It is created by

, Eddie Gonzalez, Jeremy Haft, Jamie Uyeshiro, and Jamie Dooner. It was announced in October 2021 that the series would star Bryana Salaz, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Ciara Riley Wilson and Shiv Pai. The series premiered on February 2, 2023.

References

External links

* * {{Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout Series 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American high school television series 2010s American teen drama television series 2020s American comedy-drama television series 2020s American high school television series 2020s American teen drama television series 2018 American television series debuts 2021 American television series endings Hispanic and Latino American television English-language Netflix original programming Television series about teenagers Television shows set in Los Angeles Spanish-language Netflix original programming