HBO Max: A look back at the first two seasons of Wahl Street

Mark Wahlberg took Hollywood by storm two decades ago. Since then, has built an empire (that rivals that of even Elon Musk’s perhaps), that fans can look into, through his show, Wahl Street.

Wahl Street, a reality TV show that has aired for two seasons on HBO Max, took a deeper look into the charismatic star’s life and his many business ventures. Branching out for any celebrity is often very disastrous or rather has disastrous results, however, for Wahlberg, success wasn’t refused him.

Over the years he has garnered a lot of success and not just in Hollywood, as his family-owned restaurant chain, Wahlburgers, has proven over the last decade or so since its inception. However, in Wahl Street the viewer gets an honest glimpse into the goings on in his life, and trust me dear readers, the moments are unguarded…big time.

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill reality series. This is no Kardashians, this is no melodramatic American Idol or what have you.

This is the honest life of a successful celebrity who wants to branch out with multiple businesses. He opens the door to his life and allows all viewers to enter at will.

Everything is out in the open…from the highs and even the most terrible lows.

I have been a fan of Wahlberg since the 90s. I’ve always found his films to be entertaining (some of my favorite films of all-time are in his filmography, which include Boogie Nights and of course, Four Brothers).

But I have to admit, I missed this show when it first dropped. I finally got around to it and boy was I missing something.

If you’ve overlooked it, I urge you to take a look, because if you watch just one episode, you will definitely binge watch the rest; I guarantee it, folks.

Wahl Street Season 1

The first season shows Mark leading into what would be the pandemic. We see him in 2019, trying to build and branch out with his many investments.

These investments include: F45: a gym chain, Municipal: a clothing line; Unrealistic Ideas: a production company; Wahlburgers: his and his family’s restaurant chain…and a few others. These include a water company and a fitness nutrition company, as well as so many other investments and companies.

In the show, we also get a glimpse at his everyday life…filming movies, missing his family, the many, many meetings; we even get a glimpse at his workouts. The lingering threat of the pandemic gives that first season an almost thrilling feel of impending doom.

Like so many of his on-screen characters, you’re watching, rooting for him, perhaps even yelling at the screen, “watch out!” And when it comes, you feel extreme pathos for the guy, or at least I did.

But this time, this isn’t at all a character; it’s his real life, the good, the bad and unfortunately, the ugly. He bares all and isn’t afraid to.

Wahl Street Season 2

The second season picks up right after the ensuing effects of the pandemic. Perhaps Municipal was hit the most; especially seeing how the previous season left off, but there he stands; Mark atop the mountain still (as does Municipal, now perhaps getting into the shoe business as well).

This time he has yet another new business venture on the docket…a tequila company, Flecha Azul.

And I understand the thought: “Great, now I need to watch another show about a celebrity getting nothing but richer?” I can abate those feelings as well, dear readers.

That isn’t what this show is about; it’s about the process, and really as you watch you forget the backdrop of the money, the mansions, the private jets and the previous success. You genuinely root for this man that takes care of not only his family, but his entourage and his business partners.

He leaves no man behind so to speak, and that comes through. At the end of the day, he’s just a guy trying to make it.

He’s a man of faith, and that comes through here too. He’s a man that believes that no one is beyond redemption, to paraphrase something he said on the show; he believes this and it makes him a very likeable millionaire.

During the second season, while he works on Father Stu, a film his very own production company produced, starring himself and Mel Gibson, he receives the news on set that his mother, Alma had passed away. He lets the cameras roll and film every excruciatingly sad moment that follows.

Fans of his previous reality show, Wahlburgers, knew how instrumental she was in the Wahlberg brothers’ lives, and it’s mentioned here too in an episode dedicated practically entirely to her. The episode is from season 2 episode 4, aptly named, “Alma Always.”

Touching doesn’t even cover it folks, and you’d probably have to watch it to truly experience the emotion. In the end, wholesome is the word that comes to mind, I guess, which is probably a little hard to come by these days.

And again, here’s a man you want to see succeed, a man that has put his own past behind him and moved on. He has done incredible things, helped a lot of people along the way.

He believes in people, which is not easy to do nowadays, sorry to say—and he has paid it forward throughout his own process of the redemption he once sought. This show is proof of that, or rather a testament to it.

If I sound in awe folks, it’s because I am. No reality show has thus impressed me so far, and I think you’ll like it too, hence the purpose of this here piece.

Stay tuned for next time and we’ll get into what we can dig up on a possible and hopeful season 3 of Wahl Street. (Fingers crossed!)