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New reality show 'Roaring Twenties' to show the ups and downs of 20-somethings living in Austin
What happens when eight twenty-somethings pack their bags and head to Austin?
It's a story many Austinites have heard before—or experienced themselves—and people around their world will soon get an insider's view of that unique experience with Netflix's new reality show "Roaring Twenties," which premieres Dec. 10.
The show follows eight strangers who will live under the same roof in Austin as they seek to "(step) out of their comfort zone" and find adventure. Much like Austin itself, these up-and-coming young people are grappling with finding steady ground during a pandemic. The series is sure to be a heartwarming take on the equally-confusing time that comes just after those coming-of-age movies.
Here's a look at the eight 20-somethings featured in Roaring Twenties:
Natalie Cabo, 26
Natalie Cabo had a more sheltered upbringing than most—her parents filmed her every move in her "strict Latin household" growing up," and her father wouldn't even let her hug boys without covering her chest.
Now, she's ready to make up for lost time, get her first boyfriend and have some fun in Austin.
"She is boldly extroverted yet adorably charming, and is making it her mission to do whatever it takes to get herself boo'd up in Austin, one awkward first date at a time," her bio reads.
Raquel Daniels, 25
As "one of the few black women who works in IT," Daniels may find her happy place in booming tech town Austin.
A Florida A&M grad and model and fashion ambassador on the side, Daniels hopes to add to her resume by making the connections needed to start her tech startup.
"She loves old-fashioneds, playing the stock market and roller skating, but you'll never catch her barefoot unless she's in the pool—she has a phobia of her uncovered feet touching the ground!" her bio reads.
Bruce Stephenson, 23
A Greenville, South Carolina native, Stephenson works with his father at Stephenson Insurance, but he has dreams of working for a professional sports team (preferably baseball). This "corn-fed, responsible guy" is ready to shed his roots and try his luck at a serious relationship while in Austin.
"It's always a party when Bruce is around—he lives by the motto 'LET'S GOOO!'," his bio reads. "He's a good corn-fed, responsible guy who respects women and loves ice cream... maybe a little too much."
Abbey Humphreys, 25
At 25, Houston native Abbey Humphreys has experience beyond her years—she's already a divorcee after marrying her high school sweetheart at 20. Now a microinfluencer, Humphreys hopes to find her identity, explore her bisexuality and get wild in Austin.
"She has no idea who she is or what she wants to do with her life, but she knows she's ready to shed the 'handcuffs' of her marriage and conservative upbringing and get into some trouble in Austin," her bio reads.
Keauno Perez, 28
At 28, Perez is the oldest on the show—and he's already got the accomplishments to show for it as the Coordinator for Residence Education at the University of Arkansas.
Perez came out as gay at 25 after years of struggling with his sexuality in the conservative area where he grew up, and he's now ready to shed his Arkansas roots and find himself in Austin. He's also a second-generation American and the first in his family to graduate from college, according to his bio.
"Keauno is like a puppy everyone immediately falls in love with—but he's never been kissed!" Perez's bio reads. "Keauno is leaving Arkansas behind as he hopes to find his 'gay sensei' in the very LGBTQ+-friendly community in Austin, and maybe a boyfriend to boot!"
Isha Punja, 24
@hutmentality #fy #sustainablebusiness #fashiondesigner #nyfw #smallbusinessowners #sustainablefashion #ASOSFashunWeek #highfashion
♬ telepatía - Kali Uchis
An Irvine, California native, Punja thought until recently that Miami was in Maine. But her lack of geography skills belies her education and ambition: a UC Berkeley economics graduate, Punja is now working to build Hut Mentality, her fashion brand centered on ethical clothing made by indigenous women in rural India.
"Isha is clumsy, gullible, and forgetful, but she knows it, and owns it," Punja's bio reads. "After struggling with depression, she realized she needed to follow her passion, and started designing clothes."
Kamari Bonds, 23
Bonds is one of three 23-year-olds to round out the youngest on the show. A model back in his home of North Carolina, Bonds is former creative business marketing major who hopes to find ways to focus on his entrepreneurship in Austin while continuing to prioritize fitness—and maybe finding love along the way.
"He loves Southern accents and hopes to find a fiery Texan woman to settle down with...eventually," Bonds' official bio reads. "For the next few months in Austin, he wants to play the field, hit the gym, and manifest his destiny... whatever it may be."
Michael Fractor, 23
An Austin native who's moving from Los Angeles, Fractor is attracted to the "weirdos" of his hometown, which is why he hopes Austin is where he can get his stand-up comedy career off the ground. With Joe Rogan in the house and an up-and-coming comedy scene, maybe this is the perfect place for Fractor to pursue his career "with absolutely zero training or experience." While he's "unafraid to bomb night after night," he is desperate for a girlfriend, according to his bio.
"He's chasing this dream wherever it takes him, even if it's to a place of failure and being forced to give it up and make a change," his bio reads.
The first part of the two-part series will premiere on Dec. 10, while the second segment will show on Dec. 17.
Find the cast members' official bios here.
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Popular
Austin sees sunny conditions and misses usual date for average first freeze, according to the National Weather Service. (Austonia)
Austin may end up staying above freezing through mid-December, a departure from typical temperatures this time of year.
The average first freeze in Austin and San Antonio usually happens around now, as the National Weather Service pointed out Monday.
The average first freeze in Austin and San Antonio is typically right about now. No freezes for the foreseeable future. There have been some years where the first freeze didn't happen until January!— NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWS Austin/San Antonio) 1638210545
Still, Austin’s Mediterranean-style climate has a wider range of first freezes than many other places and we’re subject to cyclical influence, says Monte Oaks, a meteorologist with the NWS.
One influence is La Niña, a climate pattern that happens in the Pacific Ocean every few years. This is the second La Niña winter in a row, an occasion known as a "double-dip." While its impacts are far-reaching and can impact weather around the world, the U.S., in particular, is expected to experience an impact on temperature and precipitation from La Niña. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said earlier this month that La Niña conditions have already developed, and in Austin, its effects have been on the mild side. As a result, Austin could have a delayed first freeze and an earlier last freeze than typical.
Many are on edge heading into winter after witnessing Winter Storm Uri hit Texas in February. The power outages caused by a failure to winterize the grid led to the death of hundreds, and in the imminent possibility of another hard-hitting weather event, Texans are still at risk.
Experts told The Texas Tribune that the state hasn’t done enough to prevent another winter blackout. Plus, recent analysis by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas revealed the grid is still vulnerable and many power plants could be forced offline under extreme conditions. As KXAN reported, the cold blast last winter came about through a stratospheric warming event—unrelated to La Niña—that brought the intrusion of Arctic air from the North Pole. This year, winter is expected to bring fewer freezes and less snowfall.
Locally, Austinites dealt with conditions of broken water pipes, a boil water notice after water treatment plants shut off, and an outage that left thousands without water. On top of that, many also lacked gas and heat and opted to warm up in their cars.
The city has completed prep work in case of another extreme weather event. Austin Energy increased vegetation management, further sectionalizing circuits and developing processes to reduce power in the downtown network. And Austin Water carried out repairs at most of its water treatment plants, dispatched heaters, sand, and more winter equipment, and plans to have all exposed pipes insulated by the end of 2021.
The Texas sun is an encouraging sign in the face of cold conditions. Oaks says more sunshine allows temperatures to warm up. For now, the National Weather Service has only found one recent freeze at the sites they track in Austin, which happened at the airport on Nov. 23.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci and other worldwide health authorities say they will "prepare for the worst" with the new omicron variant.
Just as the world takes a breath from the Delta variant-induced third COVID surge that pushed hospitals past capacity this summer, a new variant—the omicron—is forcing countries around the world to once again consider shutting their doors.
It's too early to tell whether the variant will have the devastating effects of the Delta variant, the Mu variant—which accounted for 3% of U.S. cases before dropping off almost entirely by October—or somewhere in between. But as omicron continues to rise sharply in all provinces of South Africa, the Biden administration is reintroducing some travel restrictions that went into effect Monday.
As the variant spreads to countries around the world, including Canada, the Netherlands and Hong Kong, the World Health Organization declared omicron a "variant of concern"—though some are calling the move premature.
What is omicron?
The omicron variant, B.1.1.529, is now under strict watch from the WHO after quickly spreading throughout Southern Africa.
It's genetically different from the Alpha and Delta variants and has up to 30 mutations in its genetic code, leading some to worry that the risk of retransmission from those who have already had COVID could be high. The strain's mutations could also aid omicron in beating out other strains and spreading more quickly to hosts.
Omicron is the latest version of the coronavirus to cause concern. Here’s what we know about where it’s spread so far and what makes it different than other variants that came before. https://t.co/ncciXnIuw9
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 29, 2021
It appears to be doing the trick. While an Associated Press report found that case numbers in South Africa are still well below other pandemic peaks—3,220 new cases were reported in South Africa on Saturday— up to 90% of new cases in the South African province of Gauteng are omicron.
The strain's effects seem to be mild so far, and hospitals haven't been overburdened yet, though hospitalizations are rising.
And doctors worry that the full extent of the variant hasn't been realized. Vaccine hesitancy is strong among South Africa's youngest population—22% of those aged 18 to 34 are vaccinated—and most of those infected with COVID have been in those younger age groups. Doctors worry that older age groups will be more adversely affected.
And while experts in the country expected a fourth surge and possible variant, the omicron still came as a "shock" as it quickly spread to all nine South African provinces and other continents. It's now the first strain labeled as a "variant of concern" since the Delta variant.
It's unclear if the variant is more immune to vaccines, although some signs indicate that it's a possibility.
Where has it been detected?
Cases of the Covid omicron variant have appeared in more than a dozen countries as of Monday. https://t.co/2bPapBIYK2 pic.twitter.com/idnQ6LjIfH
— NBC News Graphics (@NBCNewsGraphics) November 29, 2021
The omicron strain still hasn't been detected in dozens of countries, and it's far from the first strain to make a mark since Delta. But it's coincided with a quick uptick in cases in South Africa, where it was originally found, and became the dominant strain in Pretoria, a city of around 750,000, in just a few weeks.
Omicron is now present in nearby Botswana and has jumped on board flights to Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Hong Kong has detected three cases, while 10 European nations including the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Germany have found a total of 45 cases. Canada has detected three cases, and none have yet been found in the United States.
What has been done?
Against the wishes of both South Africa and the WHO, several countries have decided to once again shut their doors.
After detecting an omicron case, Israel decided to bar entry to foreigners, while Morocco suspended incoming international air travel for two weeks. Dozens of countries are restricting travel from Southern Africa to South Africa's chagrin—the government said travel restrictions are “akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker.”
The WHO also called for borders to remain open as closing borders appears to have a limited effect on the spread of variants, and many countries are hesitant to clamp down on restrictions that have limited its citizens for so long.
The United States said in a statement Friday that it would restrict travel from eight southern African countries except for citizens and permanent U.S. residents who test negative for the virus.
White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that it's "too early to say" whether tightened COVID restrictions will be needed to combat omicron but that citizens must be ready to do “anything and everything” to prevent its spread.
When will we know more?
The WHO said it will take around two weeks to gauge the full effects of omicron, from its ability to evade vaccines to its contagiousness.
For now, countries have once again urged their citizens to get vaccinated. Some vaccine companies have already spoken about the strain, including Moderna, which said Sunday that a new vaccine that protects against the variant could be released in early 2022 if needed.
For now, Fauci said that the country must "prepare for the worst" just in case omicron becomes the culprit of yet another surge.
“Inevitably, it will be here. The question is will we be prepared for it? If and when, and it’s going to be when, it comes here hopefully we will be ready for it,” Fauci said.
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John and Brenda Wilson won the Great Christmas Light Fight that they have put on for over 20 years. (Great Christmas Light Fight)
Homeowners in Windcrest, Texas don't take Christmas lightly. Decking out their home in thousands of lights, one Windcrest couple even won ABC’s Texas episode of “Great Christmas Light Fight” that aired Sunday.
Known as "Christmas sweethearts," John and Brenda Wilson were awarded $50,000 after going up against fellow Texans, including a family in Amarillo and two families in Corpus Christi, in the ninth season premiere of the lights show.
(Great Christmas Light Fight)
Their holiday display featured a hand-built sled, a train called the Peppermint Expressway with actual peppermint smoke coming out of it and Santa's reindeer "in training." Designer and judge Taniya Nayak noted the linework of the lights displayed on the roof and the positioning of the red and lime green color palette.
"Right off the bat when the lights turned on, I couldn't believe how beautiful these peppermint lights were... it's just such a fun, happy, yummy, delicious vibe to it," Nayak said when she announced the Wilsons were the winners. "It really made a smile go from one ear to the other on my face."
Judge Nayak said she also enjoyed that their display had different stories behind each section.
(Great Christmas Light Fight)
John, or "Mr. Christmas" as Brenda called him, said he has been putting on a Christmas lights display for over 20 years—and it's only got better since he met his Mrs. Clause 12 years ago. The two said they met online and were 98% compatible.
"Brenda and I grew up back in the 50s when things were very simple, so we wanted to create something from when we were growing up," John said on the show.
And their efforts paid off: along with their monetary prize, the couple earned a light-bulb-shaped trophy.
KSAT reports the home got the attention of the show's casting directors last year, who encouraged them to apply to be on the show. The show was then shot last year, but the couple didn't learn they won until this year.
While being on the show is their intro to stardom, locals are familiar with the Wilsons' yearly display in the light-centric Windcrest. Each year their home is part of the Windcrest Light Up, a decades-old tradition where residents go all-out with their holiday light displays. They've won at least three grand prizes in the Windcrest contest and several other category first-place prizes.
The Windcrest Light Up kicks off Dec. 4.
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