We don't often get shows like this.
I'd say the casting department did their job well.
Kerry Washington has a good relationship and legacy with ABC, and it's nice that she gets a starring vehicle that lets her feature her comedy skills. I don't know if this will be limited to the 1 series of 8 half hour episodes, but hopefully we'll get more.
The show is Delroy Lindo's show. He's been a working actor for years who is respected in the industry. He's been in several films that are part of culture. Washington is the lead, but this is Lindo's show.
He's playing a man I see on a daily basis in the community I'm in, but not on screen. The character is complex, and you know Lindo has worked him out for us from how he is on screen. A complex character that is approachable.
This show is based on heavy topics. Daddy issues, release from prison, being black in Minnesota, revisiting relationships, the housing market in America, and how technology changes culture.
The overall tone of the show is lite, and at times cartoonish. It IS a sitcom, in 8 half hour segments that goes into those topics. How it is able to do that is the cast. The last few episodes get a bit heavier, but retain most of the positive tone about life.
We know it is based on a true story. Sometimes trauma includes laughs. It is how we live. The supporting cast, is there for the leads. In many ways they provide the drama to the show, and it is a nice mix.
By the supporting cast providing the drama, we get to enjoy watching how the two leads work through their flaws, with humor.
The shortcomings with the show are in someways related to the sitcom nature. Story lines just end. That is how life is sometimes. Problems just resolve themselves because there isn't anything else you can do with it.
I like the show. It will be nice to see more shows like this in production, and I hope the numbers support that decision for Hulu.
