by: Kat Littfin
Editorial Editor
Cutthroat and campy: Netflix’s TV series Boots is an unlikely combination of the two. Released on Oct. 9, Boots swiftly became a highly watched and praised Netflix original TV show.
Boots is a coming-of-age military drama set in 1990 that stars Miles Heizer as Cameron Cope, a loner teen who has just graduated high school. When his best friend and former Air Force trainee, Ray McAffey, introduces Cope to the Marine Corps’s Buddy Program, they join the Navy together. Cope joins to find some sense of belonging outside of his small hometown, where he feels out of place as a closeted gay man. However, it is strictly against Marine Corps regulations to be homosexual. While Cope has to struggle through already grueling and painful Naval training, he also feels suffocated keeping his sexuality secret. However, he begins to learn that he is not the only recruit or officer with a secret, as many of his peers have a complex past.
The 2016 memoir The Pink Marine by Greg Cope White originally inspired the show’s creator, Andy Parker, to make Boots. The memoir details Cope White’s experience as a gay man in the late ‘70s. Acclaimed screenwriter, producer, and Air Force veteran Norman Lear was an executive producer of the show, as he served as Cope White’s mentor. Boots was the last show Lear worked on before his death in 2023. The production of the show faced many setbacks as filming occurred amidst the 2023 strikes in the film and TV industry. Still, the show’s production team persisted, leading to its release in late 2025.
Unlike most military dramas, Boots is creative and quirky. The show has a score with many ‘90s classics as well as arrangements by Jongnic Bontemps that use military instruments to create authentic yet innovative interpretations of Marine Corps anthems. The acting in the show is often alarmingly over-the-top and unbelievable. However, the creators wanted to make a show that was not of the typical “drab and bleak” military variety, according to an article by the NY Times. The series is certainly not boring, as it retains the drama and harshness of many military shows while still being lighthearted and eccentric.
The release of Boots came about at a poignant moment. Recently, military leaders, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, have discussed returning to 1990s standards. While this mainly includes stricter training and fewer regulations on commanding officers, it also includes banning homosexuals from the military. In a time when politicians have challenged the presence of LGBTQIA+ individuals in the Armed Forces, the show purposefully portrays the Marine Corps in an unmanly and playful way as well as including female, queer, and racially diverse commanding officers. Challenging the modern anti-DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) sentiments, Boots is more than just an entertaining TV show.
(Sources: NYT, Politico)