Pilot Review: Disjointed

Disjointed (Netflix)
Premiered August 25

Netflix is churning out show after show these days, and most of them are intellectual explorations of different themes, some new and some old. And then a few of them, for unknown reasons, are laugh-track comedies that feel like they should have been made decades ago yet manage to exist in the present as new productions. I read the title of this show and a very short synopsis before going into it, and it was even worse than I expected. The barrage of pot jokes was overwhelming, and there were even dated black and Jewish jokes that hardly felt necessary. Oscar winner Kathy Bates has been nominated for an Emmy fourteen times, and unfortunately this role hews closest to the only one that actually won her the award, her guest spot on “Two and a Half Men.” Though Chuck Lorre has created a number of other successful sitcoms, like “The Big Bang Theory,” it’s easy to tie him to that one long-running CBS show, thanks in no small part to Charlie Sheen’s much-publicized hatred for him, which led to Bates playing his ghost. This show is far too reminiscent of that often effortless comedy, and all of the painfully-constructed humor here is pretty unbearable. I’m not sure if anything more profound or based in quality was to be expected from a show set in a marijuana dispensary, since it does lend itself to lazy humor since its characters often find themselves completely unmotivated to do anything. I find myself unmotivated to watch.

How will it work as a series? This show doesn’t have a great rhythm to it, freefalling from conversations about the industry to commercials for the law firm that specializes in delayed food cases. It’s hard to find much of a hint of seriousness anywhere on this show, and that makes the supposedly sincere moments all the more unconvincing. Maybe if you’re high while watching this show, it would prove more enjoyable.
How long will it last? Reviews aren’t great for this show, as expected, but they weren’t particularly good for “The Ranch” either, and that show got renewed. I’d expect this one to be cancelled shortly given Netflix’s recent penchant for dismissing its underperformers.

Pilot grade: F