One electrical storm later, the world has gone to ****. In this post-apocalyptic world, John Doe and Quiet have to deliver a package. Psychopathic clowns, milkmen, Watkin stoms, towns in trucks, holy men, and above all: fights from cars. This Paramount show sure is something crazy. The series is set in a world where all electric items stopped working in 2002. Quickly after, the world turned into chaos, and now there are people living cozy lives inside city walls, and people living outside in the wilderness of what is left. Our story starts with John Doe (Anthony Mackie, Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), who delivers packages from one city to another in the ‘Divided States of America’. He quickly runs into Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), and they travel together from then on.
The comedic effect in this case mostly consists of the series being violent, vulgar, chaotic, crazy, and most of all absurd
On their travels, they run into many friends and foes. The most notable of these is a psychopathic, murderous clown named Sweet Tooth (see video below). Sweet Tooth’s body is played by Joe Seanoa (mostly known for AEW fights) and his voice by Will Arnett (Arrested Development). Besides him, the two run into the most unholy holy men you will ever see, the most unlawful lawful men you will ever see, and a town in trucks.
This series is categorized as comedy. And it sure is fun, but do not expect many jokes. The comedic effect in this case mostly consists of the series being violent, vulgar, chaotic, crazy, and most of all absurd. For every new episode they somehow manage to come up with something even more absurd than the last. If you do not like swearing, skip this show, because every other line of text contains an F-bomb. And perhaps we should have expected nothing less of a show with some of the same makers as Deadpool. Or of a show based on a game where people shoot at each other from cars.
The first few episodes take a bit of time to get into gear. Especially the first episode is mostly introductions. This is not very problematic, but might be good to know if you decide to watch this. In the later episodes, the chemistry between Quiet and John Doe really starts to come off of the screen. Their quick bickering is what this show leans on; without it, it would have just been a lot of swearing and violence. The story is not too complicated, although they are setting up for more in a second season which could have a more complicate story line.
My main complaint is that the effects are sometimes a bit cheap. One particularly bad green screen driving scene really threw me off. If they had at least made the steering motions match the background, that would have helped a lot. A similar thing occurs with the mismatch between Sweet Tooth’s body and voice. You can sometimes really hear that they recorded the voice separately, and it has a bit uncanny valley vibes. However, as Sweet Tooth is a completely insane character anyways, it works somewhat, but it still sounds off.
The season ends with a set-up for a next season, which I will surely watch. I am very curious what it will bring. And who of the first season will return?
About the writer, Nienke de Boode
She started with watching NCIS, CSI and Bones, but over time her passion for TV shows has grown to what it is today, with dozens of shows that need to be watched. You can always wake her up for a good crime show, but she is also open to different things. Comedy and fantasy are on her list of favourites as well. Since October 2014, she also writes for MySeries to combine her love for TV shows and writing.
