TV Review: 'The Characters'

“The Characters,” Netflix’s newest original series, is a bold gambit for the streaming service. The show devotes each of its eight episodes to showcasing a single comedian, giving him or her free reign to pursue their own comedic styling as they so choose. It’s certainly an interesting endeavor, and never less than entertaining. Ultimately, “The Characters” is just like sketchy comedy itself—a wildly inconsistent show that every now and then hits the mark in a brilliant way.

Oddly enough, the two best episodes of “The Characters” are the ones that largely eschew the sketch comedy format in favor of something weirder yet more linear. John Early, a rising New York comedian known for his scene-stealing role in “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp,” uses his showcase to play a loosely fictionalized version of himself preparing for his impending nuptials. This incarnation of Early is a monster and a drama vortex, sucking his long-suffering fiance, friends and family into his constant narcissistic panic. It’s the most consistently funny episode, though sometimes it veers into dramatic territory to its overall benefit. Kate Berlant’s equally brilliant episode deftly skewers the art world. She shows more versatile range than Early, playing a Marina Abramović-esque phony, her sycophantic assistant and a mute vanguard who may not be all that he seems. The episode ends on a truly poignant note about the profundity of art, and then Berlant comes back for one last wickedly funny joke.

"Jurassic World" standout Lauren Lapkus and "Saturday Night Live" writer Natasha Rothwell serve up pleasant but largely conventional episodes that nonetheless provide plenty of laughs. Lapkus centers her narrative around a fake dating show for the vapid pop star Whitney Peeps. The episodes suffer due to the staleness of the concept and the one-note Peeps, but the characters Lapkus plays on the periphery are surreal and hilarious—especially sullen preteen Todd, who perfectly embodies middle school angst. Rothwell proves equally adept at playing children, as her role as the brash second-grader Tyneisha is the funniest moment of “The Characters”' entire run. Tyneisha crashes into her mom’s office like a wrecking ball demanding candy, yet ultimately shows herself to be a life guru who always improves the well-being of the coworkers. It’s a perfect embodiment of Rothwell’s comedy: witty, sweet and a little innocuous.

The other four episodes—devoted to Henry Zebrowski, Dr. Brown, Tim Robinson and Paul Downs—are not nearly as funny. Downs and Robinson are great at playing a variety of characters, but their episodes lack the focus and structure that propel “The Characters” at its best. Dr. Brown’s episode doubles down on surrealism to mixed results, and Zebrowski’s is downright noxious in its crassness and racial stereotyping. However, “The Characters” has far more highs than lows and is a fun experiment for comedy fans to savor.