Higher Ground

from the golden age of prestige TV, Higher Ground is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Crave with a 8/10 audience score that speaks for itself. 22 episodes — the right length to tell the story it is telling. Television that earns its era label is rarer than the number of shows attempting it suggests — most of what gets called prestige TV is really just expensive TV. Higher Ground is one of the genuine examples: the craft is there in the writing, the performances, and the way it handles its subject matter. Hayden Christensen's involvement signals the kind of production that attracts serious talent and uses it properly. Available now on streaming — no excuses left for not watching it.

Canadian production values give Higher Ground a feel distinct from American and international alternatives. Higher Ground told the story of Mount Horizon High School, a therapeutic boarding school for troubled teens, where the students learned to face their personal struggles with addiction, abuse, or disorders. [Higher Ground is an American-Canadian drama action television show shot outside Vancouver, British Columbia. The series ran from January 14, 2000 - June 16, 2000 and aired on Fox Family. Hayden Christensen and Meghan Ory lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It aired in 2000. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping every episode in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. The consistency across the run is what elevates it — not every episode is the best, but none of them are a reason to stop watching.

The show you recommend to people who say they do not really watch TV. Higher Ground tends to convert them. The complete run is available and worth treating as a single long film if your schedule allows. The quality of the character writing is the reason it holds up on rewatch, when you can see the groundwork being laid in early episodes for things that only pay off much later. One of the more rewarding dramas of its era, and one that rewards the patience it asks of you. Hayden Christensen is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record.