It feels like there was a lot of hype about Master of None when it first was released, but I'm not sure the hype has continued passed the initial few weeks. This may be because Jessica Jones has overshadowed Master of None as the new Netflix it girl. Not surprisingly because Jessica Jones is a phenomenal show that at a future time I will expound upon.
However, Aziz Ansari's show is also a fantastic show, that should not be overlooked. If you like Louis CK's Louie, you will like Master of None. If you like Aziz Ansari's stand-up you will definitely like this show.
I don't think this show is getting enough credit for being ground breaking. I think Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang deserve a lot of credit for being very real in a very subtle way. It almost takes effort to see that the show they created is different from many shows made today because the show feels so... real and... right. Because it is right, and they are right to make it the way that they did.
Ten years ago this show would have been made with an all white, male cast. There would have been a token black guy and a token (white) girl, to give the illusion of diversity or reality and then been done with it. We've seen it before, I don't have to spell it out for you.
It's comforting, and sadly, refreshing to see such refined racial and gender parity in the casting of this show. I think this show, more than anything I've seen in recent history, created a diverse cast without it seeming manufactured. In the most beautiful way, these people are people. They don't feel like caricatures, and they certainly don't feel like political statements.
It's a refreshing show in that it is successfully light-hearted while also tackling some more serious themes. I hesitate to call it a comedy even though it is co-created by one of the funniest men out and about these days. It certainly fits within the realm of sitcom in that the cast of characters is given a situation each week-- Parents, Sexism, Racism, even Old People-- and then deals with the situation in comical ways.
I never would have thought I would call Aziz Ansari a subtle dude. Maybe it is a symptom of watching him play the outlandish Tom on Parks and Recreation, but I would have imagined a much grander, much more slap-stick show from Aziz Ansari. But this show is gentle in many ways. Sure there are some silly goofs, throwaway jokes, and immature laughs--but overall it is a show full of smart people, smart jokes, and smart take-aways.
If you haven't checked it out, please do. And if you have checked it out and been distracted by Jessica Jones, Star Wars, or The Holidays, please go back to it. I think it deserves the love. And shows like this don't get made again if they don't get support. This is a show, if nothing else, that should set an example for future television.
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