I do not know how to begin describing my initial reaction to the first episode of Netflix’s original series “The Get Down”.

For those who are unfamiliar with the show, it is about a group of teenagers in Bronx in the era of the disco. It is a bit hard to describe the show without completing spoiling it but it is worth the watch regardless.

The main character is named Zeke. He has a sad story. Both his parents died in a very gruesome way – murder. Now, he lives with his aunt and her husband who does not like him at all but he has nowhere else to go. He is seen with a girl after leaving his house and they record her beautiful singing. That is his friend Mylene and from the very beginning, you can tell he has deep rooted feelings for this gorgeous girl because after the recording, they run to an open window and he leans in for a kiss. Already, the scene is set. His motive is clear and then, he gets friendzoned. It is then that we see our first conflict. Mylene tells him she is going to a nightclub to show a celebrity her mixtape and that very nightclub is known to have rambunctious gangsters.

For the rest of the episode, Zeke tries to win her heart and in the midst of it all, he decides to buy her a gift. Harmless enough, right? Zeke decides to buy a record for Mylene so that he could play it at the club and win her over. Just his luck, someone else had their eye on the exact same record. In the store, it was swiped from his hand by a very athletic hooligan who then proceeded to dash all over the place and jump over buildings. He ended up dropping the record on the way and it fell into Zeke’s hands once again. The hooligan had me on edge with each jump and slide.

All decked out, Zeke was ready for the club. The hooligan was at the club and offered him entrance into the club in exchange for the record. Mylene was inside talking to the gangsters and one of them even offered her a hotel room with him. The lighting in the disco was just phenomenal and the dancing was in sync. The choreographer who directed these dance movements had a really good eye for body shapes. When Mylene danced with the main gangster Cadillac, their moves had some chemistry and the positive and negative shapes made through the movement of the arms and legs were very pleasing to the eye. The club scenes were my favorite until it got shot up. The people the record was stolen from came and took their revenge. Luckily, all of the main characters survived but they did not come out completely unscathed.

Mylene had to reject Zeke once again when he dropped her off and told her she needs a man not a boy who does not know what he wants to do with his life. Zeke befriends the hooligan and discovers the real reason why he needed the record. Now he and the hooligan will be partners in the future and their plan is to be known around the Bronx music industry.

If you do not like rap or disco music, I would not recommend this show but the story and acting made me really interested. I got attached to the characters really easy and there was some comedic relief. It is not just a straight drama. I cannot wait to see the next episode.