Comedy Central
For the previous 25 years, South Park has been a dependable juggernaut for Comedy Central, which has naturally sought to make use of it as a launching pad for added raunchy R-rated collection as a way to create a Wednesday evening primetime comedy programming block. These efforts have largely been in useless, however that hasn’t stopped the community from making an attempt, and for its umpteenth stab at devising a follow-up to Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s hit, they’ve struck upon Fairview, a half-hour sitcom from creator R.J. Fried and govt producer Stephen Colbert (of Tooning Out the Information) that’s a part of Comedy Central’s renewed dedication to irreverent adult-skewing animation—an outlook that’s additionally ensuing within the upcoming reboot of Beavis and Butthead. As with its lead-in, it’s a present that’s crude in each kind and content material. Sadly, a minimum of on the idea of its pilot (Feb. 9), it’s about as intelligent as a visit to the lavatory.
Talking of which, Fairview is obsessive about speaking about bowel actions, bodily fluids and sexual conduct, all of it ostensibly aimed toward incomes it some edgy credibility. Certainly one of this season premiere’s major narrative threads is that video game-loving teenager Beef has chosen to obtain the Moderna vaccine behind his dad and mom’ again—one thing that bothers his director of public works and highschool soccer coach dad Todd, and outright incenses his mother Holly, a loudmouth redneck nightmare who can’t consider her son would do one thing so accountable (what’s subsequent, she wonders… washing your fingers?). When Beef reveals that he took this plan of action to guard his immunocompromised non-binary buddy Mack, Holly freaks out and makes Beef spend time with reckless function mannequin Breckman, the gray-haired proprietor of Fairview’s funeral residence, who dances with pleasure on the sight of a corpse—as a result of, you already know, it’ll earn him more cash—and whose mentorship with Beef entails educating him to be a “complete fucking fool asshole” by pooping on random strangers.
Saying that this storyline isn’t humorous is akin to stating that the sky isn’t inexperienced, however in some way, it’s not even probably the most terrible facet of Fairview’s introductory episode. The present’s major protagonist is Kelly Sampson, a former celebration lady who’s now the city’s mayor, and who finds herself in a doubtlessly catastrophic state of affairs when her Director of Finance Glen Michaels pronounces that he’s going to throw an epic Tremendous Bowl celebration that includes vodka luges (that comprise each number of hepatitis!) and a particular look by Footbot (who’s a soccer robotic, as his title implies). Their coworkers Todd and Chelsea are excited to attend this shindig, however Kelly has her issues, what with Fairview’s skyrocketing COVID-19 circumstances. Thus, she suggests that everybody who goes to Glen’s bash be vaxxed or have a detrimental PCR check inside 24 hours of the sport, to which Glen replies, “That's such an outdated mind-set. We stay in COVID occasions, events kill individuals.”
That is supposedly amusing as a result of Fairview is a city of dumb individuals who don’t care about private or public security, and revel of their terrible idiocy. That’s the only real joke in Fairview, and it’s replayed with a very off-putting model of brash, cheery screechiness, with Glen as the largest perpetrator, his each line yelled for optimum over-the-top emphasis. Breckman, in the meantime, is the loopy uncouth codger who doubles and triples down on his impoliteness, as when he repeatedly strives—in a crowded restaurant—to normalize calling Beef his “boyfriend” as a result of they’re each “boys” and “associates.” Rounding out the present’s assortment of male morons is Jake, a BBQ grasp who Kelly is sleeping with, in opposition to her higher judgement. Jake shouldn't be very shiny however good at intercourse, and, nicely, that’s about all we find out about him thus far, which says loads in regards to the creativity on show.
Fairview’s writing is fairly abysmal, lowlighted by Breckman making an attempt to persuade Beef to hitch him on the ice cream parlor as a result of “perhaps the scooper will allow you to squat a sizzling one on his pointy hat.” Its animation is equally dreary, with character designs that characteristic no fingers, legs or ft; the underside of every determine is as a substitute a rounded ball, as if everybody have been an anthropomorphic children’ punching bag. Matched by a shiny coloration palette, that fashion makes your complete endeavor resemble a cross between a web-based viral-video cartoon and Higglytown Heroes, and the truth that Fried doesn’t present a second of visible aptitude—the closest he comes is a tepid Tremendous Bowl celebration music-video sequence—speaks to the tossed-off nature of those proceedings.
As with South Park, Fairview is intent on mining of-the-moment topical materials for its goofy narratives. The issue is, its debut suggests it doesn’t have a perspective on the world at massive except for, “Morons are moronic but additionally candy and endearing!” Worse, its outlook isn’t even constant—if, for instance, Beef and Mack are anxious in regards to the latter changing into contaminated with the virus, why do they spend all of their time collectively on the “COVID pile?” Such clumsiness is in line with the present’s consuming dismalness, which extends to the late look of Footbot, who’s an expert athlete affected by continual traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and, subsequently, can’t keep in mind what he’s doing or the place he’s going, to not point out resents everybody for treating him like a brain-damaged particular person in want of fixed monitoring and care.
It’s potential that Fairview will enhance because it extra absolutely develops its characters and, consequently, can play them off one another in weird and outlandish methods. Extra possible, although, is that it’ll undergo a cancellation loss of life even quicker than the unvaxxed residents of its fictional hamlet.