Rutherford Falls

Out of the handful of new sitcoms that have launched, THIS one seems to have kept my interest the most.

It started kinda iffy but I am currently watching the season finale and I'm hooked.

Definitely a series that benefits from the option of bingeing.

If I had to wait a whole week for an episode I might have forgotten about it. Now I can't WAIT for the next season!👍🏽👍🏽 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

Like many reviewers I watched because I adore Ed Helms and his particular blend of comedy but for lots of reasons this show fails to engage with enough people, enough of the time to be funny. Season 1 was overly political and so it was hard to find the comedy in it. Season 2 was funnier but Helms just pushed himself aside to shine a spotlight on the rest of the cast and unfortunately for him, most of the cast are bad actors with little ability so without his charisma this one could never get far. Needed more star power and famous faces. I understand what he was trying to do and no doubt it was all well intentioned but for lots of reasons such as plot and acting, this didn't land.

This very funny series has Ed Helms as a likable but brittle museum operator and Jana Schmieding as his long-time friend who find themselves embroiled in an argument over an attempt to move a historic statue.

While some people are rolling their eyes at the series' "wokeness," this series offers a sharp, smart portrayal of a complex issue. Helm's Nathan really is a nice guy, a genuine history lover who puts a lot of effort into boosting Schmieding's Reagan. At the same time he's clueless to the way the world works differently for non-white non-men, offering Reagan the sort of "just ask for things and people will give them to you" advice of someone who lives in a bubble. And when his world view is threatened challenged he pretty much melts down.

It's putting a face to white fragility and the nature of privilege in a way that doesn't turn Nathan into a "bad guy." And it's a series that portrays Native Americans as a mixed lot; Reagan is wonderful but she's got some awful co-workers at her casino/museum, and her boss is a fascinating Machiavellian character.

Of course if you're offended by the whole concept of "white privilege" than that complexity and subtlety will mean nothing to you, in the same way that the complexity's of "Dear White People" mean nothing to the people who felt the title itself was some sort of personal attack.

So if you're one of those fragile, easily offended people, you're bound to be offended. But if you're at all reasonable you'll appreciate how smartly this series addresses these issues, and how it humanizes all sides.

Also it's really, really funny.

Great show. *Highly* recommended.

Let's start by saying I think Ed Helms is super talented and I appriciate the effort, Helms, Shur and the writers wanting to do something different.

Sadly like a lot of reviews on here something is missing as in effort to almost be super diverse in every category they have forgotten to cast better actors and add better writers to the room.

Michael Greyeyes, Ed Helms and the very underused Beth Stelling are all fantastic but the rest of the cast are exceptionally hit and miss and as a result so are the plots and the level of acting in varying episodes. Sometimes it is hilarious, satirical and heartwarming and sometimes it's a bit like a school play.

Season 2 is much better than season 1 with a range of much funnier scenes but the awful romance between Nathan and Dedria is so desperately cringeworthy and contrived for a show that is largely trying to be at the forefront of something, the whole set up seems so bad. Normally Ed has so much chrisma he can pull off a romance and you root for the two characters but these two have NO chemistry and the whole story seems forced to give Nathan a plot for the season.it's all very odd and disjointed. The show desperately needs to clean house for season 3 shifting out some current cast for new characters that can support its growth.

It can be developed but they need to add to the cast and bring more established names in to help it progress. Truth be told I should have given it a 6 but I love Ed Helms so much and don't want to bash a show that is trying to do a good thing and clearly has a good heart but if you are not a Native American or an Ed Helms fan you may struggle to stay with it,

I was to disclose a couple of things up front first

I'm writing this as a Native who originally picked this up because this is the first major sitcom featuring a Native main character. In movies and tv, where Natives only have just 0.04% representaion, I was surprised to hear a series that will have a large Native cast and the largest Native writing staff in a big-name comedy show. It had my interest, and in the end, blew my expectations out of the water.

Yes, this is a show that is centered on systemic racism. Yes, this episode often has caricatures to drive the satire forward. Yes, this series, if you're not a minority, you might get on a defense about some of the comments they make through this series.

I enjoy Schur's past work. The Good Place remains as one of my favorite series out there, and I adore Parks and Rec. I feel this show falls very similar to the latter. You have characters that are very strong and intelligent, but they are not perfect.

Ed Helm's character, Nathan, plays on someone who is a supporter for equality. But often doesn't recognize when he lives in a bubble. He is passionate about his family's history, so much so he made it his life's goal to teach about it. Whenever it's challenge he meets it with hostility. The city wants to move a historical statue? He makes a fight against it, despite it being a repeated safety hazard and is hated by most of the town. He learns some uncomfortable truths about his family's history? He purposely dismisses or ignores it in favor of the version he likes better.

Native characters Reagan and Terry are by no means pure characters either. Both want to fight for the benefit of their tribe. But both have conflicting ideas that often are at war with one another. Terry believes money will help the Nation, and regularly exploits his identity and culture to achieve that. He worked hard surviving in a dog eat dog system, and has grew to be underhanded for what he believes is a greater purpose. He often has resentment towards the white demographic that has succeed off an unbalanced system. Showing that racism is not just a one-way street.

Reagan is not a pure character either. She worked hard to get two master degrees in hopes of opening her own museum. Her friend, Nathan, was handed the museum while she is left museum less and resented by the community. Her character explores the internal conflictions of Natives, where there is always the groups of Natives that make you question, "Do I deserve to fight for my people?". She is often at odds with herself, and regularly needs to be shown that, despite her strong will and intelligence, needs put her ego aside and learn from others.

I don't think I've ever seen a show that has really captured some of the most significant problems in Native culture so well. It brings a lot of uncomfortable truths forward that encourage a deep discussion. My spouse is non-native, and the episode where Nathan and Reagan were conflicted about awarding a non-native student for his pandering video on Natives pressed us to pause the show and discuss at length about it.

That's what a lot of these episodes ended up sparking. With each episode, character, and problem, it led to a discussion about the situation. I rarely have seen a show that has been able to execute this while filling me with laughs.

Lastly, the comedy I really appreciate. There are some jokes there that were obviously made with a Native audience in mind. I've introduced this show to my dad who told me he was joyfully rioting in jokes. He loved the truth in jokes like "Why wasn't there a statue for the chief?" and the Native museum barren of exhibits.

Some of the stuff in the last few episodes were admittedly too on the nose. This show served to be a show not tell for 80% of their points, but the last bit were met with explaining them. Things like about how we're a group of people, not a monolith. Or, how the experience is just not going to be understood by everyone no matter how much you try. Things I felt like they did well to show us throughout the series, but for some reason they included them as talking points in the latter episodes.

I really hope for a season 2, and cross my fingers this gets picked up for one. I felt this series was not going to be a show with high viewership like Schur's previous work. Shows about Native people usually aren't, and shows about racial topics is usually met a lot with people not wanting to listen. It's why I recommend if you watch this show, be open minded about it.

There are some harsh realities sprinkled into this sitcom. Ones that may take you away from the usually fantasy of TV. But in our current times, I believe that's where we need to be.