The story over all was a mess. No real story line to follow. Yes it is a TV show but it was a show based in some sort of reality but in no way did this show represent reality. It was every hot topic in the news thrown into a show and lets see if we can make a story. Guess what...they couldn't. The best description to describe this show is a "My So Called Life" type show based off twitter headlines and some singing to draw in the Glee crowd. And I wish I could give a half star.

The story was really good. It depicted how teens are-maybe a little exaggerated...but I know a lot of kids who go through similar situations. Unrealistic? A little. Rights to do any play are required. No one obtained them-they just decided to do it. Rights also dictate that you must perform the play with no changes to script/music. Those issues aside - it was an enjoyable show. To those who scream it was way too liberal---my hubby and I are conservative. We never found it liberal or dictating. It simply depicted things teens go through on a daily basis. Maybe we should pay more attention to their woes ...

"Rise" is artfully superior to 9 out of 10 shows airing in 2018. Rise portrays multiple age range social issues with great casting and acting. It wasn't well promoted, clearly the network feared backlash. But real life issues don't go away when someone condemns and tries to hide them. "Rise" shows all sides. When a person is different from what's familiar those differences can be hard to accept. But when you know someone born different you cannot deny their reality. We have found "Rise" deepening, refreshing and artfully entertaining.

Rise is a show that makes you feel. You can relate and is something that we didn't know we needed until it was here.