Season two of the Netflix coming of age dramedy “On My Block” is set to premiere this upcoming Friday. Season one seems to have not been well noticed among Netflix viewers because of the lack of online discussion, but reviewers praised the show, and it currently stands at a 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

For those of you who have not seen it, or for those who need a little recap, “On My Block” follows a group of book- and street-wise high school freshmen growing up in a fictional low-income city near Los Angeles. The driving force of this TV show is most certainly the characters. All of the characters have their own quirks and personality and are extremely likable and relatable. The show perfectly blends drama and comedy in the most fluent way possible, and it is never sloppy or inconsistent.

One of the main plot elements centers around the character Cesar (Diego Tinoco) and his abrupt choice to be beat into a street gang that his older brother is already a member of. Cesar struggles with his life as a Santos (the fictional gang) and trying to get out of it alive at the same time. Other plot elements surround around romance between the main cast of characters, but I will avoid discussing that in order to not to spoil anything for people who have not seen season one.

This is the part of the article where I will discuss possibilities for season two and the season one finale, so spoilers will be in the rest of the article. You have been warned.

Season one ends with a tragic gang land shooting gone wrong at Olivia’s (Ronni Hawk) quinceañera. Prior to the part, Cesar choose not to kill Latrelle (Jahking Guilory), a rival gang member around his age, and there were unintended consequences. Latrelle lied to Cesar and told him he would leave the neighborhood and disappear if he spared his life, and that certainly did not happen. Latrelle shows up to the party to kill Cesar, but Ruby (Jason Genao) and Olivia get caught in the crossfire. The season ends on a cliffhanger, with the viewers being uncertain if either Ruby or Olivia survived that attack.

In the season two trailer we get confirmation that Ruby is alive, but we do not see Olivia anywhere in the trailer. There are hints pointing to the fact that Olivia died, but it is uncertain as of right now. Also, in the trailer, we see insight into what Jamal’s (Brett Grey) endeavors will be in this season.

The first season also ended on the cliffhanger of Jamal finally finding the RollerWorld money that was stolen years prior and was hid somewhere in the neighborhood. After a season-long treasure hunt similar to National Treasure, he finally finds the money buried underneath the high school football field. In the trailer, we learn that the treasure comes out to be $200,000, and Jamal needs to find a way to hide and keep it secret in the neighborhood. Jamal, being known for not being able to keep a secret and having $200,000 in their violent neighborhood will certainly be an interesting plot line.

What I like most about the trailer is that this season seems to have the same aspects that made season one shine. Olivia may be dead, but we still see enough comedy and teasers toward new drama elements exemplifying that the show is not becoming something it shouldn’t. Other teen shows use sex and drugs to drive the plot, but “On My Block” uses street-wise kids in a violent neighborhood to drive the plot, and it works. Season two premieres Friday, so prepare to binge this season over the weekend.

Jordan Boyer is a senior history major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or at jtboyer@eiu.edu.