out of 5

Created by: Christopher Vane

covers season 1

The pitch for ‘Impastor’ is about as pitchy as these things come: fugitive Buddy steals the identity of a recently deceased gay pastor and hides out under that identity in the small town of Ladner.  Bloops!  This pastor swears, and don’t know his Bible!  And – aw dang – the progressive Ladner is all set to see some gay action, but Buddy’s for real a hardcore hetero!  Bloops bloops!  Yes, it trots out every joke you can imagine from this premise, with outlandish sermons and poor pastorly advice and sexual confusion antics… however, the show manages not only to keep its head above water – to not only be mere distraction – but to actually be a pretty legitimately enjoyable show.

It’s not a smart show, mind you – you can tell where most jokes are going, and Buddy’s inner monologues rarely function as anything more than words to move the plot along – but the writers have taken a pitchy pitch and done right by it, indulging in what there is to indulge but adding to it in ways that flesh it out more as a show.  How this works can be boiled down to some key points:

1. The cast – while, at a glance, made up of expected stereotypes – ends up having personalities.  This is in part down to the actors, who are all very well cast, but absolutely due to the scripting as well, which gives the gay friend and sexpot and nervous nelly all doses of humanity.
2. One of the characters not getting such a well-rounded persona is the uptight president of the Church.  But, he’s played by David Rasche, so all is forgiven.
3. …And the character with whom we spend the most time, Buddy, is an incredibly likeable scumbag, played with a really swell balance of swarm and charm by Michael Rosenbaum.  The ridiculousness of the concept relies on an actor who can make us believe he’s quick-witted while also making horrendous decisions, and Mike pulls that off without overselling it.
4. …And speaking of horrendous decisions, while, as mentioned, we have our fair share of foibles stemming from Buddy’s tomfoolery, whether caught out by his lack of knowledge or letting his fugitivey ways lead him down a ruinous path, there are an equal amount of plot squabbles that come from outside of that, preventing the show from feeling like a one-trick pony.  It also gives us those great moments where you can’t possibly see how Buddy can talk or get himself out of a hole, but he does, and it’s entertaining TV.
5. Not being a sitcom.  This setup and the small town locations would easily lend itself to a live-audience style sitcom.  The very act of shooting it as a show ups the pedigree notably, and the production design, while subtle, works wonders to make us believe in Ladner, making Buddy’s presence a more heightened juxtaposition than could ever be achieved sitcom-style.

Now if the premise turns you off already, there’s nothing in the material that’s going to outright win you over.  Impastor is strictly entertainment.  But if you shrugged, and decided to give it a chance, it’s got a surprising amount of energy and effort fueling it that makes one eager to put on the next episode.