master of none
A few seconds into the first episode of Master of None, Dev’s one-night stand situation takes a turn for the worse. The condom breaks, he curses, and he and his date argue about the possibility of pregnancy. The two take an Uber to the pharmacy to buy Plan B and then say a stiff goodbye.
Dev, a struggling actor and insecure romantic, is an about-face from the goofy G-rated Tom Haverford Aziz Ansari played on NBC’s Parks and Recreation the past six years — and yet he wears the character just as comfortably. Master of None is a game-changer for more than Ansari’s career, though. The 10-episode Netflix series, which premiered Friday, is a distinct departure from the typical sitcom formula (in spite of its mediocre title).
In each half-hour episode, Ansari attempts to tackle a singular aspect of young-adult life, from maintaining a relationship with his parents to weighing the pros and cons of sleeping with a married woman. The episodes are only loosely linked by a few relatively unimportant supporting characters and subplots, all together functioning like a collection of essays in streaming form.
It’s the source material of Girls meets the understated deadpan of Portlandia meets the quirky cinematic style of Wes Anderson. And while shows like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt found success on Netflix after failing to get picked up by networks, Master of None feels bigger than the boob tube.
Some episodes center on serious issues like racism in Hollywood and dating double standards, but Ansari finds humor in the absurdity of these inequalities without discounting their importance as easily as he has in his stand-up routines and book. In one episode, for instance, Dev fights to hold a grudge against a seemingly racist casting director after the bigot in question gives him courtside seats to a Knicks game.
Ansari is a convincing everyman on a quest for professional and personal success. Dev is a welcome change from the one-liner sidekicks he usually plays and the type of character he’ll hopefully have more opportunities to portray. His character’s main romantic counterpart Rachel (Saturday Night Live alumna Noël Wells) is a little watery by comparison, but the two have undeniable chemistry. Their interactions are generally earnest and sweet.
The show gets off to a slow start — disappointing, given the season’s compactness — but gains momentum after the second episode and is a quick binge to the season finale. If Ansari has more wisdom to impart, then a second season should be a no-brainer.
