How to sell drugs on the internet is a Netflix original which follows two outcasts who end up creating a drug-dealing website. This series is a contemporary drama that focuses on many issues that face teenager in the twenty-first century such as the impact of social media, the use of narcotics and the importance of friendship. During the series, Mortiz’s, played by Maximillian Mundt, girlfriend breaks up with him and he spirals into the drug dealing business. To cope with this break up he hacks into her Facebook and watches as she changes her relationship status, changes her profile picture so that he isn’t included which shows how people in this generation act in a breakup, etc. This display of modern life is often not explored in TV series which was very interesting and great to see. On top of this, the series explores the increase of drug use within the teenage generation and but at the same time displaying the possible dangers of drug use. Traditionally, drugs are shown on tv giving a small trip that has little to no consequences however this show, shows to drug overdoses going wrong with, while difficult to watch at times, which was a very positive message to the series. This series also educated viewers on the dark web and how it uses. The reason this show deals with so many modern-day issues and is so relatable is due to the fact that it is based on true events and the series is built at times like an interview/documentary of what happened in the real-life events. During these sections, the actors break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience about Netflix, give overviews and discuss what is about to and what has just happened.
Maximillian plays the nerdy role perfectly. He is ‘unfit’, often confused and has an incredible sense of technology. However, despite this, the character is confident when faced with confrontation, which happens a lot in this series, which is surprising because I personally don’t think this is how this type of character would act in real life. He is shown being a stalker who does everything in his power and uses all of his digital skills to help rebuild his relationship. Part of this is his ability to develop apps. This series shows a realistic depiction of app development with real programming languages, the time you have to put aside for such an app and the knowledge that is required for it which was amazing from a personal perspective. This character, however, did have an inflated sense of superiority which was belittling for the viewers as the character basically says he is better than everyone else. Lenny, played by Danilo Kamber, was a likable character who unfortunately was in a wheelchair and only has a short while left to live. This character had sympathy from the audience as all he wanted to do was develop his app/business but his business partner Mortiz is too busy perusing his ex-girlfriend which causes frustration. For me, the name Lenny draws an obvious connection to Lenny in Of mice and men which is a nice touch.
The whole series deals with teenage issues such as feeling replaced and the anxiety of leaving everything. Both lead characters deal with being replaced in relationships and within their own families. This story is set in Germany and uses some German in signs which he translates using subtitles. However, this series has dubbed the dialogue in English which is very distracting and is very frustrating for the audience. But this was one of only a few problems with this series. I believe that there will obviously be a second series of this program due to how the narrative ended. Overall, I would rate this show 4 out of five stars and this would have been higher if the dubbing wasn’t so bad. I am very excited about the next series and it is a unique show that is perfect for a teenage audience.
Rhysreviews 