‘I’m With The Band: Nasty Cherry’ Is Unrealistic, Ridiculous, And Totally Entertaining

Social media…musical competition shows…reality television…streaming music services… these are scourges on society, malignant forces that have wreaked havoc on art, music, politics, taste and decorum. You can “OK boomer” me if you like, but I’m an X-er and these are the facts. My self-important notions of artistic integrity and authenticity aside, I have a confession to make: I love any reality and / or competition show about people putting a band together, from Making The Band to Bands on the Run.

I love them whether it’s an R&B vocal quartet or a rock n’ roll band. I love them whether they become household names or disappear into obscurity. I love them whether it’s a competition to see who’s in the band or a competition to see which band is best. I don’t care if the music is good, I don’t care if it sucks. I don’t watch these shows for the music. No one cares about their music. I come to watch their petty victories and failures; their drama and tragedy is my comedy. I come to be entertained. 

I’ll be honest, when I was assigned the new Netflix series I‘m With The Band: Nasty Cherry to review this week, I tried to get out of it. Maybe, I had forgotten how good these shows were or maybe I just didn’t feel like binge watching an entire season straight through. Halfway into the first episode, however, I was back in my happy place. I was entertained.

Envisioned by British singer-songwriter Charli XCX, and assembled from her friends and acquaintances, the concept behind Nasty Cherry is hardly original, but executed flawlessly.  Combine a smoking hot yet inexperienced singer, the model Gabbriette “Gabi” Bechtel, with two seasoned musicians, singer turned guitarist Chloe Chaidez and drummer-for-hire Debbie Knox-Hewson. Oh, and a bassist, Georgia Somary. She doesn’t know how to play bass, but learns how to for the show. Like, any idiot can play bass, right? Besides, Charli says, “she can literally do anything,” which is literally impossible. 

We all know the time-honored tropes of reality TV, but somehow they always work. Four strangers, living together under one roof. Add to that, the pressures of becoming a cohesive musical unit, despite two of them never having played music before, and expect them to write songs, record them and play live within four months. Are they insecure? YES! Will they become superstars? WHO KNOWS?! Are they good? WHO CARES?! Will there be tears? OF COURSE THERE ARE TEARS!!!

Charli XCX describes the band as “Unashamedly human, real and also badass.” Debbie describes them as “The Cure and The Runaways meets social media.” Cool description. Unfortunately, they sound nothing like either band, but they do get a major push out of Charli and Gabi’s social media accounts. They make a good start of things, chugging Champagne and frolicking by the swimming pool and later crash a party (pretty rock n’ roll) for Spotify (not very rock n’ roll). Debbie and Georgia are English and miss home. Charli and band manager Emmie Lichtenberg live in a different house than the band and it’s a lot nicer, so at least they got that part about the music industry dead on. 

The six episodes in season one breeze by. One episode they’re meeting for the first time, a few episodes later, they almost break up. Debbie is uptight. Chloe is neurotic. Georgia is condescending and Gabi pouts a lot. Despite everyone paying lip service to the idea of non-musicians having “purity,” the musicians obviously want to be good. Chloe’s commitments to her other band Kitten rankles the others. 

Unlike bands made up of boys and men, which tend to settle artistic differences with screaming matches and fisticuffs, the ladies of Nasty Cherry let tension build to the breaking point, then cry and make it better. Chloe feels unappreciated and dramatically moves out of the group home and says she doesn’t want to discuss it. After Charli tells her, “They literally said it’s not Nasty Cherry without you,” she comes back and there’s tears and hugs all around. If you know anything about reality TV, you know very little of it is actually spontaneous, and quit a lot of it is scripted, so maybe it was all for show.

The band get ready for the release of their debut single and book a show that quickly sells out. There’s more tears, Gabi’s mom is proud of her, Emmie’s proud of the band, Chloe and Georgia settle their differences and hug it out.

I’m not sure if there’ll be a season two of I’m With The Band or, if there is, whether it will be with the same band. I’m not sure what’s going on with Nasty Cherry since the release of their single or Netflix show. Any degree of success would bring about work commitments that would push the band the breaking point once again. Honestly, I don’t really care one way or the other. But for now, I have been entertained.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC. 

Stream I'm With The Band: Nasty Cherry on Netflix