Scott Patrick Green/Netflix

By Kristi Turnquist | The Oregonian/OregonLive

"Everything Sucks!," the new Netflix comedy-drama set in Boring, Oregon in 1996, is the latest entry in the sensitive-but-funny-misfit-schoolkids genre. It's a category that includes such memorable predecessors as "Square Pegs" (1982-1983), "The Breakfast Club" (1985), "Freaks and Geeks" (1999-2000) and, to name a more recent example, "Stranger Things."

Like those ancestors, “Everything Sucks!” focuses on a geeky but mostly lovable group of students, with a heaping dose of ‘90s nostalgia mixed in. And like the movies and TV series it follows, “Everything Sucks!” blends moments of goofy humor with melancholy.

If “Everything Sucks!” isn’t up to the standard of a classic like “Freaks and Geeks,” the show’s gentle touch and affection for its characters help keep it bouncing along, even when things get bumpy.

Jahi Di’Allo Winston gives a charming performance as Luke, a freshman at Boring High School, where the mascot is the Beaver, and whose student body make the expected jokes about living in a town called Boring. Locals may spot some familiar locations, as “Everything Sucks!” filmed in Oregon City and Portland last summer.

Creators Ben York Jones and Michael Mohan have the promising idea of building “Everything Sucks!” around the nerdy members of the school A.V. club and the histrionic members of the drama club.

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Scott Patrick Green/Netflix

But while the nerds, including Luke and his pals, the brainy McQuaid (Rio Mangini) and the dweeby Tyler (Quinn Liebling), are believable, the drama kids are, for some reason, portrayed as bullying creeps. It's most notable in Eli Stevenson as the big-haired Oliver (nowhere near as likable as Joe Keery’s big-haired Steve in “Stranger Things”) and Sydney Sweeney’s improbable sexpot, Emaline.

The clash between the misfit cliques gets less attention than the dilemma facing sophomore Kate (Peyton Kennedy.) The daughter of the high school principal, Ken (Patch Darragh), Kate is a smart introvert who’s realizing that she’s a lesbian. It’s an awakening that complicates – to put it mildly – Luke’s crush on Kate, and his determination that she should be his girlfriend.

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Scott Patrick Green/Netflix

“Everything Sucks!” is upfront about the challenges Kate goes through, and the homophobic taunts thrown her way.

By contrast, Boring in 1996 appears to be immune from any racial conflicts. Luke and his mother, Sherry (Claudine Mboligikpelani Nako) – who are African American – don’t suffer any sort of discrimination and no issues ever come up over the fact that Luke and Sherry are dating white people, which comes off as both refreshing and a bit unlikely.

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Scott Patrick Green/Netflix

“Everything Sucks!” takes in stride that some of the kids aren’t living a perfect TV life. Kate’s mother has died, and Luke’s father has left, and both carry a sense of sadness. But the overall mood is upbeat, and the 10 half-hour episodes zip by fairly quickly, especially when Luke and his friends join forces with drama club kids to make a sci-fi movie, complete with do-it-yourself costumes and props (i.e., a car with cheesy “space ship” attachments.)

The ‘90s details -- which those who came of age in that era will likely eat up -- are laid on a bit thick. The tunes (“Wonderwall”), vintage slang (“cool beans”), Columbia House CDs in the mail, dial-up computer modem noises, chatter about the lyrics to Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic,” Tori Amos, “Showgirls,” and a six-pack of Zima as a peace offering are nonstop nostalgia-delivery systems.

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“Everything Sucks!” fits into the Netflix strategy of world domination, in that it’s part of the streaming giant’s effort to add youth-oriented programming. And the series, while including some adult language and raunchy jokes, seems designed to appeal to a young audience that’s likely never heard of Alanis Morissette or Oasis.

“Everything Sucks!” isn’t likely to become a classic, but with its binge-friendly short episodes, it may be perfect for viewers who want something that won’t demand a ton of time.

And who knows? Maybe “Everything Sucks!” will make Boring a hot tourist destination for Netflix subscribers.

“Everything Sucks!” begins streaming on Netflix on Friday, Feb. 16.

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Related: Netflix series 'Everything Sucks!' and HBO's 'Here and Now' keep Oregon's TV streak going

"Portlandia" may be winding down, but "Everything Sucks!" and HBO's "Here and Now" are both examples of how TV series are still choosing Oregon as a filming location and a setting for shows. Here's my review of "Here and Now."