As I went down the Netflix rabbit hole recently, a poster with Aziz Ansari popped out at me. I was a big fan of his stand-up and loved him on Parks and Recreation. I was even more excited to see this wasn’t another stand-up special, but in fact a new Netflix series called Master of None.
I immediately jumped in to watch the pilot and overall I enjoyed it. The vibe definitely reminded me of Louie (how could it not?) Both feature a stand-up comedian playing a version of himself as he navigates his life in New York City. But what I particularly enjoyed about Aziz’s show is that since he’s only a few years older than me, his worries/thoughts/experiences felt closer to me than that of Louie CK.
The pilot opens on Aziz having sex with a random girl. We don’t see much, just hear the.. ehem.. noises from a covert camera angle. The condom breaks and then the real awkwardness begins. Aziz takes her to a drugstore to buy Plan B, pays for it and even gets some apple juice for both of them (because it’s so amazing and delicious).
Noelle Wells (alumus of Saturday Night Live for one season) plays the random hookup girl. She is delightfully real and awkward with Aziz and I definitely want to see more of her.
I think opening with a sex scene that soon becomes an awkward Plan B run is a great way to start off this pilot. It tells me this show is really going to lean into the uncomfortable and awkward and while I may not roll on the floor laughing all the time, there is a chuckle of recognition I experience, thinking “Yeah that feels real.”
Since watching this episode and before writing this blog entry, I’ve seen mixed reviews online. I’ve only seen the pilot so far so I cannot comment on the series as a whole, but I will say that this show is not Parks and Recreation. I’m not sure if people went in thinking it might be that, but this show definitely is not one to elicit hearty laughter. Master of None is more thoughtful and evenly paced and potentially will elicit deep and important conversations about society and personal life choices.
A friend of mine saw Aziz’s standup a couple of years ago and her report was “I mean he was funny, but MAN is he bitter about relationships.” Much of his standup she saw dealt with girls who had rejected him and how hard he found dating to be.
I see this show as perhaps an offshoot of that thought progression, maybe even an evolution from it. The show feels like he’s exploring his 30s now (I believe Aziz is 31 now) and questioning what he wants, when is the right time to make big moves (get married, have kids, etc) and simply trying to gather information from his fellow 30 year old friends.
It’s a natural thing to question and be curious about. From my Catholic upbringing to my liberal college education, I have a mix of friends from both sides of that question: those who married young and have several kids already and others who held off on marriage/kids to pursue further schooling and focus on their career path.
And to some extent, I think this pilot managed to show pros and cons for both lifestyle choices.
We see the freedom that comes with being single as well as the awkward sexual encounters mentioned above alongside the wear and tear that comes with being a parent that feature a few sweet moments that only a child can bring.
I truly enjoyed the Master of None pilot and am excited to continue watching the series. I give this pilot 8 out of 10 bottles of apple juice.
