''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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

series which follows star players of an under-21

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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. 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, Stephanie Bennett, Emmanuel Kabongo, and Conrad Pla. The series aired in Canada on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

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 by

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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 (appro ...

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

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'':

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 * Emmanuel Kabongo as Junior Lolo * Andres Joseph as Alex el Haddadi * Conrad Pla as Albert Rocas * Ryan Pierce as Davey Gunn * Clark Backo as Emma Lavigueur * Eileen Li as Lara Yun

Recurring

* Kyle Mac as Special K * Colm Feore as Declan Gallard * Kevin Claydon as Stefan Arnaud * Jonathan Kim as James Tran * Kimberly Laferriere as Marie Tremblay * Gabrielle Graham as Fatima Gossa * Thamela Mpumlwana as Sly Lolo * Cristina Rosato as Ana Messina * Sarah Booth as Cheyenne

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 Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' 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 of the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' 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 2018, '' 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 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