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What Sweeney thinks: I knew nothing about this going in, except that it was Donald Glover’s brainchild, which was sufficient to make me want to watch it. The show is definitely unique and distinctive and that’s really cool and exciting. I think that in this era of abundant prestige television, even the well written, high quality stuff has come to have a lot of the same markers, and Atlanta seems to be actually trying to do different things. Hiro Murai, the show’s director, has a background in music videos, which lends a really interesting quality and aesthetic to the show. The comedy and drama of the show are blended in a way that is weird in the best possible way? I am not good at articulating my thoughts on this show. I think it probably won’t be for everyone, but I loved it and I’m excited to keep watching. This gets an A from me, for sure.
In a nutshell: A woman finds herself extremely dead and in a heaven-equivalent called “The Good Place,” but there’s been a mistake because she isn’t supposed to be there and she wasn’t exactly a good person on Earth. Whoops.
What Mari thinks: I was signed up to watch this basically because of Kristen Bell. Premise? What premise? It’s Kristen Bell. The man behind the show is Michael Schur of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Rec fame, so it also has that going for it, but like Kristen Bell.
I found this pretty decent. I think it was smart to air three episodes of it in one week because the pilot alone would’ve been underwhelming. It’s a 30-minute sitcom comedy that needed that first 30 minutes to just set up the premise and I think the premise was probably the most fun part, from the main character’s crappy housing situation to the point system that gets people in the door. I think over time, if this show is going to find success, it’ll be in the more subtle and smart moments of comedy. An example is from the pilot in which we get an orientation video about the point system, and you can see that fixing a broken tricycle for a child who loves tricycles will earn you significantly more points than fixing a broken tricycle for a child who is indifferent to tricycles.
I’m not sure I’ll keep up with it real time, but I’m also kind of scared to give up on it. I’ve not seen Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Parks and Rec and they both have such devoted followings. I know Parks and Rec also took a season to find it’s footing. WHAT IF THIS IS THE NEW PARKS AND REC?
Overall, I think my feelings can be summed up thusly: I laughed out loud once or twice, but I can’t really remember what the jokes were. Kristen Bell.
B-
What Samantha thinks: I enjoyed the first two episodes. It’s clever and like Mari said, Kristen Bell. Definintely pause on the point system that Mari mentioned, it’s worth it. You get hella points for sticking by the Cleveland Browns so huzzah.
It’s also GORGEOUS. That is my biggest takeaway, it’s so pretty. Gorgeous sets and nature and color. Loved it.
My main drawback is something that’s going to be very specific to me, I’d imagine. You only get to go to the good place if you’re really really special. Florence Nightingale didn’t even get in. Everyone else is stuck in the Bad Place and that rubbed me the wrong way/made me paranoid. I overthink all the TV, guys.
B
What Annie thinks: Full disclosure, I watched this for two reasons: Demi Adejuyigbe, co-host of the Gilmore Guys podcast wrote for it and Kristen Bell because Kristen Bell. I enjoyed the back-to-back episodes. The pilot set the stage and introduced us to the key characters and the second episode, ‘Flying’ gave us a better idea of how the show was going to look.
I really enjoyed the back and forth between Kristen Bell’s character, Eleanor, and William Jackson Harper’s character, Chidi. The show’s ensemble-esque cast is entertaining and reminds me of Parks and Rec, appropriately, or less quirky townies from shows like the Simpsons or Gilmore Girls.
I worry a little bit about the longevity of this show, but that’s only because of the premise. That being said, I think this show could grow into something really fun to watch. So long as they don’t kick any more dogs in the name of physical comedy. I’m not here for that.
B-
Overall Grade: B-
In a nutshell: A douchebag is really good at his job of picking a jury.
What Samantha thinks: Okay, I only made it halfway through this episode. I was bored and bummed out with it. An arrogant doctor uses scientific voodoo to help predict/rig juries, sorta? It felt like one of those things that should probably be illegal but isn’t? Idk. I bailed so maybe it got better but I am okay with that risk.
D
What Samantha thinks: Omg I loved this. I went in with high expectations because of the cast and because of hoped for #familyfeels. (What? No, I was not just here for Jess Mariano stop accusing me of things.) It delivered. I laughed a few times and teared up more than a few and just got really invested really quickly. Jess (okay fine, Jack) and Rebecca were the best part for me. I am also apparently not as good as TV as I thought, because I did not see the ending coming. I am very interested to see where the show goes from here.
A
What Dani thinks: I also did not see that twist at the end; I just thought it was a show about people who shared the same birthday. The show was good at inducing feels, although the plot does seem a little thin. It’s definitely a low stakes show, which is not a bad thing in and of itself, so long as we really care about each character and what happens to them. I’m not super invested in Kate’s or Ryan’s storylines, but Randall’s arc was like a ninja-kick to the heart. My favorite characters were Jack and Rebecca, but I’m nervous about their future. Without spoiling too much, I’m wondering if the reveal at the end means Jess Mariano will only appear in the first episode. If so, I’m bummed, as his scenes really stole the show for me. #GilmoreGirls4EVER #NiceAss
What Mari thinks: I was interested in catching this because of Mandy and Milo and because, like Samantha, I’m a sucker for those #familyfeels. I didn’t catch it live, but then I started hearing about this twist! This twist! Even expecting A TWIST, I really didn’t catch on to what it would be. We are probably no w over-playing this. It’s not a big twist or even something that’s very out there in terms of story-telling. The episode just misleads you some and when the pieces come together, it was satisfying.
I’m hesitantly optimistic about this show. If done right, it’ll be be character driven, full of feels and well-acted. My areas of concern include: losing some of the characters I liked the most in the first episode; Kate’s story line being only about losing weight to be happy and; that’s mainly it, but I started this list so it’s staying.
Overall, I thought the pilot was solid. It introduced the characters really well, got us invested quickly and set up the rest of the premise in wonderful fashion. I’d give it an A.
Overall Grade: A
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
Nicole is the co-captain of Snark Squad and these days she spends most of her time editing podcasts. She spends too much time on Twitter and very occasionally vlogs and blogs. In her day job she's a producer, editor, director, and sometimes host of educational YouTube channels. She loves travel, maps, panda gifs, and semicolons. Writing biographies stresses her out; she crowd sourced this one years ago and has been using a version of it ever since. She would like to thank Twitter for their help.
I'm a 28 year old graduated English major and almost librarian. I can often be found singing too loudly (poorly) in the car or spending some time (hours) on Tumblr. I am a lover of Harry Potter, the Spice Girls, and too many other things.
Fuchsia-haired, caffeine enthusiast, dog person, Raptors fan, sometimes blogger, music & social media geek, freelancer, human being. She/her.
I’m a serial procrastinator and a genuinely terrible singer, and if anyone knows how to monetize either of these skills please hit me up. In my spare time, I like to study Dutch painters, Italian architecture, and Canadian bacon.
