Reboot: All of season 1 (Hulu)
October 2, 2022 6:25 PM - Season 1 (Full Season) - Subscribe

How do you work through issues of parental abandonment, career failure, collapsing relationships, insecurity, and other traumas? If you're Rachel Bloom, Paul Reiser, Judy Greer, Johnny Knoxville and Keegan-Michael Key, you reboot an old sitcom, but make it edgy.

IMDB description: "Follows an early 2000s family sitcom that Hulu has rebooted and their dysfunctional cast that must deal with their unresolved issues in today's fast-changing world."
posted by sardonyx (19 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I had heard good things about this show, so I went into it hopeful. Sadly, I'm finding myself on the fence. Everybody seems to be acting for completely different audiences: some are presenting themselves in a more naturalistic manner, others are exaggerating wildly. It all seems off somehow. Yes, I get that this is probably a reflection of their characters, but if that's the case, it shouldn't be happening all the time.

I'm surprised about how much I like Johnny Knoxville in this. I can't say I'm a fan, and his name was the one that most turned me off before watching even a single episode, but I kind of like the way he is handling his character. Judy Greer, on the other hand, is disappointing, as is Keegan-Michael Key. They both seem too broad (to use a description from the show). I hate the character of the grown-up child star.

The group of writers--both the young, edgy ones and the old Jewish ones (as they self-identify)--seem like caricatures, not characters. Maybe that will change with more screen time, but I'm not looking forward to suffering through their progress.

It's nice to see Paul Reiser getting a lot more work these days. Of course, I'm here mainly for Rachel Bloom.
posted by sardonyx at 6:37 PM on October 2, 2022


The previews were promising so I watched the first two episodes and, wow, is this mediocre.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 9:11 PM on October 2, 2022 [2 favorites]


Stick with it, it continues to be mediocre, but with old jewish writer jokes.
posted by Marticus at 11:57 PM on October 2, 2022 [4 favorites]


Confused.. a reboot of Reboot?
posted by sammyo at 2:36 AM on October 3, 2022


This thread is not about the show I hoped it'd be about.
posted by jordemort at 6:40 AM on October 3, 2022 [6 favorites]


Wow, I'm having the exact opposite experience. We've watched all the episodes available thus far with our 14-year-old, and have been laughing consistently. It seems like meta-commentary to me, given the mash-up of traditional sitcom humor with more mature "prestige TV" stuff. I like how Hulu is making fun of itself with the character of the humorless, data-driven executive and repeated discussions about demographics. I think it's got a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

And particular props to Kerri Kenney as the horny mom - she will always be "The Former Mrs. Lapin" to me (IYKYK), and never disappoints.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 7:23 AM on October 4, 2022 [6 favorites]


Same, found first episode kind of meh but from second episode on, laugh-out-loud funny. The meta-awareness and criticism is what makes it, and sometimes the satire is as quick and subtle as it is pointed and perceptive.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:19 AM on October 4, 2022 [3 favorites]


I'm glad this thread got started--I asked about it, then got distracted.

I like it very much. I did kind of note the similarity between the episode 1 twist of Modern Family and this one (episode one of MF shows all 3 families separately and then reveals they're all related at the end), with the reveal being that Hannah and the original showrunner are estranged daughter and father. But it really works for this show.

I did crack up at the whole "she's doing the reality show scheme by sleeping with you!" vs. "no, seriously, ALL OF THAT IS SCRIPTED, SHE SHOWED ME THE SCRIPT" thing. And creepy dude sleeping with his show son's mom has been pretty oddly hilarious?

It has kind of odd sweet moments, like "yeah, I already knew you were gay" and changing the script, and the old/new writers eventually finding a rapport.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:23 AM on October 4, 2022 [5 favorites]




And creepy dude sleeping with his show son's mom has been pretty oddly hilarious?

Yeah, Johnny Knoxville has been the big surprise for me. I never had much of an opinion about Jackass, but he brings a surprising amount of nuance to this part (especially in this week's episode, which I won't spoil if you haven't seen it yet).
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 7:41 AM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


Gordon trying to fix Hannah up with Mallory from HR, along with the rest of the writers' room, is surprisingly endearing.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:57 PM on October 11, 2022 [3 favorites]


I was obsessed with Crazy Ex-Girlfiend and really like Rachel Bloom, so that kind of brought me here. I'm on episode 2 and don't love it yet, but am enjoying performances from Johnny Knoxville, Paul Reiser, and Rachel Bloom. I think it has potential. I like the frazzled, tired, jaded thing Rachel Bloom is doing, it's kinda refreshing to see on a show. I'm interested to see where it goes.
posted by bearette at 3:25 PM on October 18, 2022 [2 favorites]


Episode 7:
"I miss the days I was the craziest one in this room."
"Testicular tortion."
"You're still not the craziest person in this room."

"You just said real tater, dipshit. That's not a word."

Allll the Jewish teen basketball/sitcom jokes: "This time Goliath wins, motherfuckers!" followed by hitting a kid in the nose.

"Learn to be so goddamned funny that everyone takes you seriously."
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:35 AM on October 22, 2022 [1 favorite]


Gordon being absolutely foul to Peter Gallagher and not being able to let it go at all...wow.

Then quitting so he doesn't sabotage the show, also wow.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:02 PM on October 27, 2022


I enjoyed this season so much! It reminded me of early 30 Rock. It was such a pleasure to watch Key, Bloom, and Reiser interact in particular -- actors I already enjoyed -- but also to discover the others too.
posted by brainwane at 11:14 AM on October 30, 2022


We finally just got to the last episode, and I really hope there's a second season. Both because I greatly enjoyed it AND because man, that was a heavy place to leave things. Oh and because I would love to see more of Eliza Coupe's Nora and what she might do around all these very different characters.
posted by solotoro at 11:28 AM on November 29, 2022


I'm also surprised by the tepid reception...halfway through the season, this show is laugh-out-loud funny to me. It doesn't have the jokes-per-minute ratio of The Other Two, but there's at least one hilarious moment in every episode.
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:42 PM on December 3, 2022


Since I started this, I may as well finish it with news of the show's cancellation.
posted by sardonyx at 8:03 PM on January 30, 2023


Yeah, I saw that and it bummed me out. I had enjoyed this one.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:24 PM on January 30, 2023


« Older Interview with the Vampire: …A...   |  Movie: Hagazussa... Newer »

You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments

poster