Every now and then, an American young-adult show about teenagers makes me wonder how different their lives are from ours. Shows like Riverdale, Sex Education, Euphoria and Never Have I Ever are filled with teenagers chasing love, freedom, identity or an escape from the lives they know. Amazon Prime Video’s new series Sterling Point follows much the same template, but somewhere along the way, it reminded of something far more familiar: the Indian daily soaps I grew up watching.In my early teens, I would watch an episode or two of Indian daily soaps with my parents over dinner. That was the ritual. What fascinated me most about those soaps was not just the high drama — seemingly endless, with so many twists that Abbas-Mustan would take notes — but their promos. Every new show arrived with a teaser or trailer that promised something genuinely exciting. There was always a great hook, an intriguing premise, something that suggested the show had something important to say. And then the actual show would begin.The hook would survive for a few episodes before slowly disappearing. The story would lose its way, pick up another track and eventually wander into something completely mundane. Unfortunately, that is where Sterling Point finds itself too. It begins with a promising premise, but before long, it starts piling on characters, romances and twists, eventually becoming just another American YA show.The series follows 17-year-old Annie Jacobson (Ella Rubin) and her twin brother, Connor (Keen Ruffalo), adopted siblings who have grown up in New York with their loving single father, Steven (Jay Duplass). Their lives are upended when they learn that their estranged grandfather, Gordon, has died and left them an island in Canada. The inheritance is strange enough on its own. Annie and Connor have never been allowed to meet Gordon, while their mother, Goldie, died when they were very young. Steven has largely kept that side of the family, and its complicated history, away from them.For Annie, the inheritance becomes an unexpected opportunity to finally understand where she came from. She makes her way to Sterling Point, initially leaving Connor behind. Instead of finding an empty property, she encounters Ramona Campbell (Amélie Hoeferle), a teenager who has grown up around Gordon and considers the island her home. Annie soon discovers that Ramona is Goldie’s biological daughter, making her and Connor’s half-sister. A still from Amazon Prime’s new series ‘Sterling Point’Two sisters meeting for the first time, coming from completely different worlds, trying to understand each other, the mother they share and what this newfound relationship means to them — there is enough material here for an entire season. Instead, Sterling Point keeps moving, bringing in more characters, complications and twists until its most interesting relationship are just competing for attention.Also Read | I watched Obsession with my girlfriend. Then she asked me one questionAnnie finds herself caught in a love triangle involving Ellis (Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie) and Rory (Daniel Quinn-Toye), while Ramona has her own romantic complications. The entire YA checklist is ticked: love triangles, summer flings, parties, hookups, breakups, sex, and kisses.Story continues below this adTo the makers’ credit, they are aware that they are making a show in 2026. The series makes room for conversations around parenting, privilege, periods and other issues its young characters would realistically encounter. There is a segment later in the show where a young character gets her period for the first time. The girls around her make her comfortable, share their own first experiences and celebrate the occasion with a crown and a bonfire. It is a small but lovely moment, and I liked how naturally the show handled it. Give us more moments like these. A still from Amazon Prime’s new series ‘Sterling Point’What keeps Sterling Point going is how it even handles familiar tropes convincingly. First love, teenage emotions, the turmoil with your parents, rebellion, the ache of wanting to be understood — the show captures these feelings with genuine warmth. The story doesn’t lack a soul, but it does feel at times that it’s living in the wrong body.The show is also at its best when it remembers that its greatest asset is Sterling Point itself. It is a place without cellphone service, where interacting with other humans isn’t optional. For basic groceries and errands, you have to take a boat to a neighbouring island. In a world where teenagers seem to have their phones permanently glued to their hands, that isolation works surprisingly well.Ella Rubin and Amélie Hoeferle also settle comfortably into their roles. Rubin brings a restless energy to Annie, while Hoeferle gives Ramona a more instinctive, guarded quality. Their relationship is easily one of the show’s strongest elements, which makes it all the more frustrating that the writing repeatedly pulls the story away from them. And that is ultimately what pulls Sterling Point down.Story continues below this adAlso Read | The Boroughs review: Netflix’s elderly monster hunters are fun, but offer little noveltyThe show begins by making you believe it will be about two sisters finding each other and figuring out how they fit into each another’s lives. Somewhere along the way, however, it falls into the very trap of the Indian daily soap that it reminded me of in the first place: when one story is working, why stop there? Add another track, then another, and another.The further Sterling Point strays from its central story, the less satisfying that it becomes. And then, just when you think the show has exhausted its supply of family secrets, it throws in one final twist that may make you look at the screen and say: “Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai?”Sterling PointSterling Point Cast – Ella Rubin, Amélie Hoeferle, Keen Ruffalo, Jay Duplass, Jeffrey Dean MorganSterling Point Director – Andrew Ahn, Megan Park, Aurora GuerreroSterling Point Rating – 2.5/5