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Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later: “Reunion” Recap

By Kelly Shanaphy

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The Wet Hot American Summer crew is back for this run as the group reunites again for another reunion.

Chances are, if you disliked the original movie, then this Netflix series will not win you over, but fans of the franchise will be happy to dive back into this wacky universe. “Reunion,” flies by quickly, touching on almost everyone’s new lives before getting the gang back together at Camp Firewood for another twenty-four hours stretched out into eight episodes.

Plenty of the former counselors find themselves successful or at the very least on the edge of success. Katie is in charge of either a magazine or a makeup company (seriously no clue), but her opening scene is a bit of a parody of any movie involving a woman working in an editorial position. Susie has become a hard-partying Hollywood producer who’s formed a friendship with one of her actors, Garth (Jai Courtney), while Lindsay is an anchor for the local news. It’s interesting that three girls are all shown to be thriving in their post camp life and bound to set up an interesting dynamic with the boys.

Unfortunately, the guys don’t have as much luck in their adult lives. Coop is struggling to finish his novel about his life, however, he can’t find an ending since he’s still alive. Victor and Neil are living together while bartending at a very hot college bar. Shari has sadly dumped Neil in favor of a new artist while Victor is more desperate than ever to lose his virginity. J.J. is working at a deadbeat job as a video rental employee who refuses to actually rent movies that he doesn’t like to his customers.

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They’re joined by newcomer Mark (Mark Feuerstein), whose long blonde hair doesn’t distinguish him much from the group other than that he’s allegedly been a part of the original gang all along and has been dating fellow new counselor Claire (Sarah Burns) since camp. Despite all of the trouble the male counselors find themselves in, Ben (now played by Adam Scott) and McKinley are doing well with their daughter as well as Gary who has become a professional chef.

“Reunion” flies by quickly, having to make a lot of introductions without overwhelming the audience. The group reconvenes at Camp Firewood, which is still run by Beth and Nancy with Arty (now officially played by Samm Levine), where their reunion is full of overly enthusiastic group cheers. However fun the moment is, it’s bitter-sweet once it becomes clear that a lot of the best characters are missing from the action.

Where is Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, and Molly Shannon? It’s definitely sad to not see Andy come flying into the staff reunion on his motorcycle just like the old days. Nonetheless, the more things change, the more things stay the same. Abby is still Victor’s last chance at happiness, Coop is hung up on Katie (and maybe vice versa?), and Susie is still using her flair for the dramatic art to over exert her authority.

Whether Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later was actually needed after the fantastic prequel series is a bigger question that will be answered as the season goes on. Nevertheless, the show is still as absurd as ever and it’s hard to blame Michael Showalter or David Wain to want to revisit the universe. “Reunion,” does show the biggest problem of a series packed with so many stars, it’s hard to get actors all in the same room together.

Next: Watch the trailer for West Hot American Summer Ten Years Later

It’s a little disconcerting to see so many shots zoomed in on one person knowing it’s because there was no one else around to film on that day. Hopefully, the rest of the season doesn’t feel as disconnected but for now, welcome back to Camp Firewood!

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