4 out of 5

Created by: Robb Cullen

covers season 1

The TV landscape has changed fascinatingly over the past decades, which I sometimes see focused around Breaking Bad – using that show as a particular pivot point.

That specific reference is relevant for Average Joe, another twist-the-knife series in BB’s mold in which your average lead – obviously it’s right there in the title – gets wrapped up in rather nefarious business. And how much of this is circumstance vs.  agency?, these shows often ask; how much of it is Joe (Deon Cole) being a victim of misfortune, and how much is it him wanting to be more than average?

Breaking Bad had five seasons to sift through that question, which made its answers feel well considered and affecting. While the forever-affected TV landscape is what allows for the season long storytelling of Average Joe – a ten episode season in which there may be filler, but no real bottle episodes – it’s also what necessitates a cause of some of the show’s faults, as nothing has the luxury of five seasons very often, and so AJ’s writers shortcut some potentially powerful character arcs in order to get us to quicker-sell “renew us” cliffhangers.

However, the fact that there are these arcs is the show’s strength, and what makes it a cut above: like Breaking Bad, and like many other great shows, on Average Joe, characters tend to matter. Whether they’re the comedy relief or the villains, the series takes steps to flesh them out. And as a result, instead of needing to rely on cheaper tricks for drama – in-fighting; information withholding – AJ can dig into its relationships and find more organic sources of conflict (and comedy!). While this makes the aforementioned shortcutting disappointing, prior to that, there’s surprise: a more nuanced hand than the average in exploring the stereotypes of familial roles; handling self-delusion, and guilt; allowing friendship to be a multi-dimensioned thing; and writing in race relations as a matter of daily life in what is maybe admittedly a light touch at points, but given that it’s not the show’s focus, it felt realistically and healthily handled.

And a plus / minus: like Breaking Bad, Joe employs dark comedy in its narrative, and the “dark” is occasionally expressed… bloodily. It’s not improper to call the show horrific at points, and it does some distracting tonal swings during these sequences. However, countering that is the followup sense of consequence to actions: people do not escape unscathed (physically or emotionally) from what’s depicted.

In Average Joe, our pseudonymous everyman discovers, in quick succession, that his recently passed father was involved with some gangsters, that his daughter is dating one of those gangsters, and that one such gangster is willing to threaten the latter if Joe does not pay the debts of the former. Joe survives this first conflict with the help of his friends, Leon (Malcolm Barrett) and “Touch” (Michael Trucco), but is left with the question of moving on, or pursuing a bigger payday. His answer is probably obvious, but results in a spiraling series of stakes-escalating decisions, spanning out to include his wife (Tammy Townsend), his daughter (Ashley Olivia Fishe), and Leon’s wife, Cathy (Cynthia McWilliams).

Though occasionally misfiring with its tone – somewhat a result of trying too hard for big moments that also affects its conclusion – Average Joe proves to be one of the most rewardingly character rich dramas of recent past, leading to its core story being stuffed with a series of what-next tensions, as well as solid laughs and drama.