This new Melissa McCarthy show from Netflix just hit the top 10 – critics be damned
A popular new Netflix show just aired, reminding us how much the Netflix audience loves Melissa McCarthy. The new series, which mixes sitcom tropes with fantasy and slapstick, immediately jumped up the charts the day after its debut.
Arriving on Netflix yesterday (Wednesday, June 15), “God’s Favorite Idiot” made the top half of Netflix’s Top 10 TV Shows on US Today’s list, ranking 4th (Stranger Things 4, Everything American) and “The First Kill”). sit in front, in that order).
With only eight episodes, the series looks like a potential new hit for Netflix. Not only does it have McCarthy’s star power, it has a premise that’s wacky enough to stretch over several seasons. There is only one problem, which we will discuss below.
Who is God’s Favorite Idiot?
Ben Falcone (who happens to be McCarthy’s husband) created and starred in God’s Favorite Idiot, in which he plays Clark Thompson, a guy struck by lightning who then becomes God’s avatar. It all happens because he just seems to be next to the wrong big cloud at the wrong time. Shortly after being struck by lightning, the world sort of begins to adjust to his movements. It is clear that the deity is on his side. But he is clueless.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend Emily Luck (McCarthy) is an office worker who is prone to extremes. How rough? Well, she mentioned that she accidentally pumped up less than five minutes after the first episode. As soon as they reunite, Emily figures out something is going on before Ben – he’s glowing, you know – and she realizes that god (perhaps in God) is involved in the situation.
Clarke then learns that he must be God’s agent of change in order to prevent – you guessed it – the apocalypse.
What do critics think of God’s Favorite Idiot?
In a situation that we’d like to say happens less often than it actually does, critics aren’t very impressed with this popular Netflix original. AT Diversity (will open in a new tab), Daniel D’Addario sort of explained that this might have been what Netflix envisioned, as the show “dropped out without giving it to critics in advance.” That’s never a good sign, and that’s probably why the God-loved idiot only has five reviews. Rotten Tomatoes Page (will open in a new tab)where he scored only 40%.
D’Addario also notes that while fans of McCarthy’s best films may be thrilled, God’s Favorite Idiot is the latest of the other half of her oeuvre, noting that the co-star “made an increasingly disastrous series of films directed by her husband, Ben Falcone.” , including “The Boss”, “Party Life”, and “Overmind”. And, unsurprisingly, D’Addario is negative about the series, writing, “What a waste of precious time in the career of a talented performer whose fans will follow her anywhere and who rewards them with so little of what she can do.” “
Daniel Hart of ReadySetCut (will open in a new tab) joins the negative side of the chorus, writing, “God’s favorite idiot seems too casual for his own good. Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy seem to get the check when they take risks in every episode and bounce off their supporting characters as much as possible. there is no depth or enough emotional reasoning to really immerse yourself in this universe.”
However, there is also a positive side. Lucy Mangan in The keeper (will open in a new tab) notes that “the genuine chemistry between the actress and her partner husband takes these apocalyptic jokes to a higher level.” However, her review only got three stars out of five, so don’t think she’s exceptionally high on this offer.
Analysis: Should You Watch God’s Pet Tonight?
McCarthy fans (which Netflix is clearly banking on) will probably take a look if they haven’t already. She’s not reinventing the wheel or anything, but this show is like a standard silly sitcom that people who want something like that will gobble up in the roughly 4 hours it takes to finish its eight half-hour episodes.
However, I will not be one of those people. I’m always looking for a new show to watch but gosh (pun intended) I couldn’t find any motivation to keep watching this show after starting it this morning. It could have been a decent “laundry-folding” TV, but that’s about it. I definitely don’t think it will make it onto our list of the best Netflix shows.
