Editors’choice
Welcome to Miami: A young artist dreams of making it big in ‘Neon’
There may be a chill in the air, but a new comedy series brings the heat from Miami beaches and dance floors to your screen. “Neon” premieres on the streamer Thursday, Oct. 19, dropping all eight episodes and immersing audiences in the world of up-and-coming reggaeton artist Santi (Tyler Dean Flores “Miguel Wants to Fight,” 2023) as he tries to make it to the big time in Magic City.
Packing their lives up into a 2009 Toyota Corolla, Santi and his friends Ness (Emma Ferreira “Unstable”) and Felix (Jordan Mendoza “”Kaleidoscope”) leave small-town Florida behind and hit the road that leads to Miami. The three best friends have a lot of inroads to make once they arrive in the big city, but their hopes of stardom for Santi keep them afloat.
In a teaser trailer for “Neon” released by Netflix, the trio’s temporary Miami lodgings are parked within view of the more comfortably cramped suites of a Sheraton hotel. Humble beginnings for sure, but the trailer also sees the dreamers working hard, making connections and taking to the stage, enjoying the nightlife they hope to become fixtures of soon.
Though they’re starting from the bottom and sleeping in their car to start, the “Neon” trailer teases some pretty glamorous upgrades afforded to the crew. Santi shoots a music video, lays down a track in the studio, embraces his friends backstage of a very important performance, gets invites to swanky house parties and tosses cash in the air. “You are a star,” Ness proclaims in the trailer before further declaring, “We have to show them we’re not loser wannabes.” Whether Santi is on the rise or a wannabe, the music fanatics of Miami decide his fate — he’ll either get set off to stardom or back to his hometown.
The friends stumble over the difficult path to making it — sometimes even getting tackled on stage — but Santi’s got an edge to set himself apart. In the trailer, the friends meet with A&R rep Mia (Courtney Taylor, “The Company You Keep”) who lays out her first impression of Santi, telling them, “You write, produce, perform. Do you know how rare that is?” Santi in turn assures Mia that she’s about to join something major, predicting, “I’ll be the biggest reggaeton star in the world.” Santi’s got a vision, and if it’s all about who you know, then a notable cameo suggests that he’s about to skyrocket out of Miami’s scene and take over the world.
“Neon” is executive produced by the “King of Reggaeton” himself, Daddy Yankee, whose hits “Gasolina” and “Despacito” have defined the genre on a global level. His tunes have appeared on various soundtracks over the years, and he’s racked up a few credits as himself in on-screen projects over the years, but “Neon” is the most involved that the musician has been in the world of TV. Having announced his retirement from music in 2022, the legendary artist seems to have turned his mind to expanding reggaeton’s impact to a new medium in TV.
Also starring in “Neon” are Santiago Cabrera (“The Flight Attendant”) as Oscar, Zach Fox (“Abbott Elementary”) as Zale and Jordana Brewster (“Fast X” 2023) as Gina. The series features new music from Grammy-winning producer Tainy, known for his work on hits like Cardi B’s 2018 chart-topper “I Like It.” Joining Tainy as executive music producers for “Neon” are producers Lex Borrero and Ivan Rodriguez. An official playlist for “Neon” is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music, featuring the new Tainy-produced track, “Exagerao,” credited to Santi.