Cindy la Regia: The High School Years has interesting and relatable plot points. With her unfashionable and socially-unaware cousin moving into her home, Cindy has to introduce her to the rich and privileged world of San Pedro Garza García, while trying to adjust to co-ed high school, joining resume-friendly philanthropic organizations, and generally succeeding. It’s practically Clueless, but with other details scribbled in. Except… events in the first few days lead her to be ostracized, so she can’t actually introduce her to things. And her cousin isn’t actually socially inept. And emotional outbursts come and go without any build-up or warning. It’s possible that the show had to rush through its plot to ensure it fits the spry seven episode runtime, but Cindy la Regia: The High School Years feels like a cash grab for the successful 2020 Mexican film it’s based on.

With its main character, Cindy la Regia: The High School Years recalls those 90’s and early aughts girl-centric high school films and series. Cindy, in particular, feels reminiscent of Cher from Clueless, with her lush blonde hair, her trying to introduce the newcomer to town, and with her well-intentioned, but naive approach. There are attempts in making the series feel a bit original, and these attempts could have been better avenues to discuss certain topics, namely nude leaks, LGBTQ+, and misguided attempts at altruism. However, the series forgets that the show is based on a 2020 film, and it just so happens that plenty of the character development and dynamics in that film are rehashed in this prequel. It almost feels like it’s trying to retroactively rewrite that film, but in doing so, Cindy la Regia: The High School Years loses narrative coherence for the entire franchise.