Essentially, it has the skeleton of HSM, the characterization of Glee, and the supposed edgy tone of another John Green novel.
Rise is not anything new: it employs tropes which are so old and worn they're practically ragged hand-me-downs in this year. It tries to do something different by underpinning it with a dark, broody tonality; however, its adherence to the stock character fittings of the talented underdog who gets the female-lead, the attractive, popular sports guy who gets the male-lead ( and the two fall for each other), and the unfulfilled teacher who seeks fulfillment through some artistic outlet sharply undercuts it and makes it cringe-worthy because it is remarkably predictable.
You see, HSM, Glee, and John Green content were (are, in John Green's case) successful because they knew how campy and stupidly cliche they were/are, they never took/take themselves too seriously, and that's why they gained/gain popularity: because they never tried to be anything other than what that it was, a good musical teenage time.
If Rise owned up to its own cliche'd existence, perhaps it would survive; however, at this rate, a complete season would be an impressive feat.
Review of Rise
