Maybe it’s just nice to see Rust Cohle and Marty Hart back together again, or maybe I was just in the mood for something light and breezy, but I enjoyed the first two episodes of Brothers quite a bit.
The Rotten Tomatoes score is rather dismal, but I think that might be as much about expectations as anything. Brothers is a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The last time we saw this pair they were solving one of the most horrific serial killer cases in TV history. Perhaps True Detective simply casts too long a shadow, and the tonal shift here is a bit of whiplash.
Besides, the score has gone up from 43% to 50% as I’ve been typing this review, and will go up a bit more once my review is added to the mix. I’ll be curious to see how this show resonates with audiences. It was created by the main stars along with Lee Eisenberg (The Office, Jury Duty) and David West Read (Schitt’s Creek) so there’s some real talent on board.
Actually, the vibe I got most from the two-part season premiere was Christmas Vacation. Fictional Matthew McConaughey is Clark Griswold. It’s not Christmas, but there’s a big memorial for his late father coming up and he’s trying to write a speech and failing miserably at it. Suddenly, Woody and his family show up in their great big hippie bus. Woody is Cousin Eddie, the unwelcome guest who shows up and brings chaos to an orderly world – or, well, a more orderly world than before.
A night out leads to friction and harsh words between our two leads but also to revelation for McConaughey, who decides to run for governor of Texas (after hearing that Joe Rogan might be running). Meanwhile, Woody has his own shocking revelation thanks to Ma Mac (Holland Taylor), McConaughey’s boozy, rather colorful mother: It turns out that it’s very possible Matthew and Woody are brothers thanks to a brief fling she had with Woody’s dad during “one of” her divorces to Matthew’s father.
Woody, naturally, wants to share this news with his BFF, but when he learns that McConaughey is running for governor – something he disapproves of intensely both because it’s a terrible idea and because Woody is an anarchist (in the show and in real life) – he keeps it to himself. Later, when campaign manager Gwen Hillcrest Barnes-Davies (played by Lisa Gilroy, who you’ll recognize from both seasons of Jury Duty) asks Matthew and his wife, Valentina (Natalie Martinez from Bad Monkey) if there are any skeletons in their closets, they answer honestly that there are none, totally unaware of what could be a pretty major scandal. And so the stakes are set for the rest of the season.
The gags aren’t exactly belly-laugh-inducing. A hunting trip gone wrong. A spectacular bull-riding mishap. An unfortunate Uber share incident. But the two leads have such terrific chemistry that it’s hard not to just enjoy this for what it is. Light fare, easy to digest. Something fun and charming and harmless to kick back with. Comfort food, similar to something like The Paper on Peacock, or Jury Duty for that matter. Hopefully the rest of the season is as charming and fun.
You can read more about Brothers and its full release schedule here.
Have you watched Brothers yet? What did you think? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
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