Camp Be Better: The timing of TVNZ’s new youth drama couldn’t be better

Instead of being sentenced to boot camp, mysterious benefactors step in and pay for her to serve her time in the comfortable restaurant. Camp Be Better. Upon arrival, she is surrounded by ‘fake babies’ and rich children.

The format isn’t quite the classic ‘slobs versus snobs’, but it is an examination of privilege and how money talks, even in the supposedly impartial eye of the law.

In an attempt to fit in, Zhou presents himself as a fellow wealthy. The scene where she claims her parents invented the Chinese version of darts is the funniest moment in the episode and is played with impeccable timing by actress Louise Jiang.

Accepted as one of their own, there is a setback with A-Class drugs that leads to the destruction of Egyptian organic silkworm skins and a gentle scolding from Sterling.

But Zhou’s lies are quickly exposed and her new group of BFFs immediately (and improbably) turn on her.

“So you’re actually crazy, poor Asians?” says one of them, approaching her. “Eww, what smells like poverty?” asks another.

In the climactic moments of the opening episode, there is an inevitable confrontation.

“I won’t be ashamed of who I am,” one of the children snaps at her.

“I’m not saying you should be ashamed of being rich,” she shoots back. “I’m saying you should be ashamed of yourself for being inconsiderate, selfish pricks.”

The fight ends on a cliffhanger. Can rich and poor ever really be friends? Stay tuned to find out.

You may be thinking that this all sounds a bit exaggerated. It is. Most of the opening episode is played very broadly and comes across as a bit thick. The show is aimed at a youthful audience, but even the kids might recognize the dip into obviousness and cliche – the two “mean girls” at camp, for example, are lifted straight from every American high school drama ever made.

That said, writing and directing duo Chye-Ling Huang and Hayden J. Weal keep the energy high, the pace snappy, and the jokes flying. Even teens with TikTok-length attention spans will have plenty to do to stay invested.

Louise Jiang gives a solid and believable role as outsider Zhou. Her grounded relatability allows the rest of the cast to subvert their rich stereotypes.

Among the adults, Barnie Duncan is great as the shady ‘Papa’ Sterling and Tom Sainsbury naturally stand out, even with the precious few on-screen moments he gets in this first episode.

But with only 22 minutes to establish its world, the opening episode almost necessarily goes wide. Given how much information it has to convey and how many characters it has to introduce, Camp Be Better does an admirable job.

So the potential is certainly there, especially within the expected audience. Can it be better? Well, everything can always be better. Teens will find it an encouraging first day at camp, and one that promises to get better the longer they stay. However, everyone else may find that the jury is still out.

Camp Be Better is streaming on TVNZ+ from today.

Karl Puschmann is an entertainment columnist for the Herald. His fascination lies in discovering what drives and inspires creative people.