MAN CRUSH MONDAY: chester from genera+ion

Chester, played by Justice Smith, is an openly gay and confidant character on the original HBO Max show, genera+ion. The show follows an ensemble cast as they navigate their lives in high school. Like most teenagers, they learn to grow within their sexuality and beliefs in the modern world and conservative families.

Once the audience is introduced to Chester, it's not difficult to become attached. He is unashamedly himself while provoking others to think outside the box, live their life the way they want to. We see him as this bubbly outgoing character but he struggles just like the rest. One of the most relatable moments of the series is when Chester inadvertently falls in love with the wrong person because it's a forbidden connection, his guidance counselor.

When the connection is severed between Chester and the guidance counselor, played by Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, we see him sullen and withdrawn. As a wonderfully vibrant and confidant character, this moment broke the heart of the viewers. During this time he escapes to the roof and meets a fellow classmate, Bo. As they talk we start to the more serious side of Chester that builds on our love for the character. He opens up to this classmate that he didn't know existed before. Like many high schoolers, Chester develops a crush. We can't help but root for them moving forward.

Quickly after the more serious side of Chester, we get back our confidant character that is a champion for all of his friends. It's hard not to root for Chester and we have to mention his adorable relationship with his grandma. He steals most scenes that he's in if we're being honest.

We have to admit genera+ion is definitely not without its faults. As a matter of fact, there are many times when even we want to throw things at our tv. But, it's the characters that keep us around. The ones that we see our younger selves in, messy and so far from perfect and that's okay. It's important for teens to figure out their lives and it's okay to make mistakes. Be messy but be kind. Love one another cause we only have one shot at this crazy thing called life.

Season one is currently airing two episodes weekly on HBO Max. Catch up before the finale.