One of the hottest new series on Tubi, the free streaming platform, is “South West High,” a gritty, no-holds-barred, sometimes-funny-and-always-real show set at a fictional high school in Detroit.
The show has garnered great ratings and reviews, and it’s put the entire Detroit community – and especially the charter school community – in the national spotlight. The show was created by a charter school founder, is shot at a charter school, and features charter school students and alumni in prominent roles, both on-screen and off.
The series was co-created by Jalen Rose, the co-founder of the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, a charter high school in Detroit that opened in 2011 and is authorized by Central Michigan University. He also serves as the president of the school board.
Jalen, a member of the University of Michigan’s famed Fab Five and a 13-year NBA veteran, also stars in “South West High” as Nolan Thomas, the principal of the school. Like the man who portrays him, Nolan is a former U-M star and NBA player. In the series, he returns to his alma mater, South West High, because he wants to make a difference in the community.
The series is fictional, but it’s largely based on Jalen’s experiences and inspired by his journey with JRLA. It’s been described as a dramatic mix of “Welcome Back, Kotter” and “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper.” Although Jalen’s Nolan Thomas is much more Joe Clark (from “Lean on Me”) than it is Mr. Cooper.
The series is a production of Same Page Entertainment, a multi-media production company that’s a collaboration between Jalen and Tom Gores, owner of the Detroit Pistons.
The company’s tagline is “By Detroit, For the World.” And that’s as true as can be.
Detroit is EVERYWHERE in “South West High.” It’s set in Detroit, filmed in Detroit, stars Detroit actors, and is dripping with Detroit references. You’ll even see some cameos by real-life Detroit stars, including TV reporter Maurielle Lue of FOX 2.
The five-episode first season was filmed over five weeks in the summer of 2024, and most of the school scenes were filmed at JRLA. That gave the real-life JRLA students and alumni an opportunity serve as extras in many of the scenes.
One of the biggest breakout stars of the series – in several ways – is charter school grad King Bethel, a 2024 JRLA graduate who attended the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences for elementary and middle school before moving on to JRLA for high school.
King, who is currently a student at Wayne State University, sings the theme song for “South West High” and he also stars in the series as Jordan Edwards, an ambitious senior at South West High with a heart of gold.
King is featured prominently in the last episode of the first season, and he said it’s been an amazing experience to have this opportunity as both an actor and singer to appear in a national TV series.
“It is truly such a blessing from God to be involved in such a groundbreaking story and production,” he said. “When I got the call, I was completely shocked. I was honored to be recognized for my gifts and to be able to highlight them in the series.”
King is also proud that he gets to help deliver the positive and inspirational message behind “South West High.”
“The story alone is valuable. It looks at social issues and challenges audiences to appreciate positivity in entertainment,” he said.
Jalen is already looking forward to a possible Season 2 of “South West High,” and in addition to giving the spotlight to so many charter school scholars and alumni, he also appreciates the opportunity to tell stories that are personal to him.
“I’m an actual educator, and president of the board, so that’s my life 24/7/365,” he told Detroit Metro Times. “So I get a chance to be in the trenches day-to-day and see the good bad and ugly things that are happening in public schools in Detroit, and so what we wanted to use this story to do is highlight the many things good, bad and ugly – the challenges the young people overcome, the teachers overcome in an inner-city public school dynamic and then play it out in this series.”
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