Coming Out

Signal23 continues to improve in its attempts to deliver solid storytelling. Look, the sound editing is terrible, there are never any "background extras" in any scene to enhance authenticity, and all the sets are much too tight and lacking in realistic detail (Josiah's mom's apartment is way too clean and tidy to be taken seriously for her character). That said... there is a wonderful story here. One filled with the realities of figuring out one's sexual orientation, the realities of how black people experience the life in America, and the realities of being forced to accept the cards that life deals.

The fight scenes and effects (oh that awful catsup blood!) are subpar. And worse yet, it seems that filming was delayed at times because the main actor changed his dreads during the filming so he literally leaves a room with one scalp style, and re-enters another room seconds later with a completely different hairstyle and length, and this continues to alternate throughout the movie. The reality seems to be that there was not much of a budget. And that's ok. Hopefully series like this will provide Signal23 with increased funds so that it can increase quality as it grows.

If you can put aside that this series was obviously made with a low budget... you will discover that its story is beautiful and haunting. This series has a real story to tell, and it delivers. It doesn't hold back on the realities of being a black teen struggling to find his place in the world that exists. It also doesn't become squeamish when portraying the realities of sex and abuse.

With better funding, this series could have ranked a 10. I commend Henderson Maddox for telling this tale as he was able to with the funds he had. And I'm hopeful that he has a vision of continuing to unveil human journeys that are unique, yet still shared. Well done.

Wtf am i watching?? Like the acting in this show is a joke and i can't believe this was even made, yhe acting is atrocious and signal23 is crazy for putting this out like seriously? Smh some of the situations going on in this the way they went with it was soo tacky and trying to hard Lmfao. This show is Awkward to watch sometimes with some scenes like the conversations in the show im just like why do they have to be Awkward and the main character josiah he is soo damn Awkward like my goodness can he be anymore shy? Smh. If this show was made alittle better with better writing and with a better Story then it could actually be good but whatever this was that signal23 pyt out Smh do better.

The title captured my attention and I read the synopsis. I liked what I read, so decided to give it a chance. I am now on episode 7. Could the acting be better, yes. But it's definitely a good series. The scene in the prison visit made me laugh, because they left something in that they should have cut out. The fake blood was very fake. Lol But this is a story that is all too well known for some people. Josiah thinking, is so realistic as he's conflicted as a young man and has to decide what would be safe for him, both at home and in school and on the streets. They definitely could have paid better attention to the little details in this series. But I am enjoying it.

I learned long ago never to judge a book by its cover. What I mean when I say this is, not all highly polished, big budged films are good, and neither are those with less of a budget meant to be easily dismissed. Over the years I have learned to look beyond all the gloss for a powerful message, and Coming Out was quite the pleasant surprise.

I have checked out many of Signal 23's projects, but none have been as pleasurable as this one. All the themes it dealt with were honest and transparent. The young man in this series had layers of circumstances to overcome as he had to come to terms with his own sexuality. I really felt for his character, and was pulling for him, hoping he didn't lose himself in all the chaos of life.

What I loved most is that the story stayed on track, and was very believable. This is some of Signal 23's best work. Once I started watching the series, I couldn't stop, and binged all 10 episodes. Thank God Tubi had it available in its entirety.

Keep up the great work!