Review: Blockbuster - Season One
Operating the last Blockbuster Video store in the United States, Timmy Yoon and his employees fight to stay relevant.
Randall Park, Melissa Fumero, Madeleine Arthur, Tyler Alvarez, J.B. Smoove, Kamaia Fairburn, Olga Merediz
‘Blockbuster’ is Netflix’s newest sitcom, and from what could’ve been a genuinely funny and innovative show, comes ten episodes of cliches and recycled jokes.
The story of this season revolves around the small staff of workers at the last Blockbuster franchise on the planet, and their dedication to trying to keep the place open. While it’s a decent idea for a series, one can’t help but think that so much of this show feels weirdly familiar.
Randall Park plays Timmy, the owner of the Blockbuster the show focuses on, he’s a weird guy, with a big heart, but sometimes has a lack of control over the words that come out of his mouth. The show essentially made him to be a watered down version of Michael Scott, without all the insensitive humor that the writers wouldn’t be able to get away with today.
A lot of the show comes off as extremely unoriginal, and I hate to keep drawing comparisons but it’s so obviously inspired by The Office, that the show literally replicates plot lines from it. The whole “downsizing” storyline is essentially mirrored here, even going as far as having Randall Park’s character focus on who to fire in order to keep the place open, much like Michael Scott in the first season of The Office.
The show really struggles in delivering good laughs. Every joke seems uninspired, and like you’ve heard it before somewhere, you just can’t place your finger on it. The show has a sense of humor which I don’t feel will appeal to many people in this day and age, although J.B. Smoove does have some solid lines in this show.
The show tries to convey a theme that people need to come together and interact with each other more, which is really ironic given that Netflix had a major role in the fall of Blockbuster, and the show calls out many big companies in this digital age, despite Netflix being one of the biggest culprits, which is only swiftly referenced in the show.
Unfortunately, Blockbuster won’t have you crying tears of laughter, but maybe just tears of boredom as you desperately wait for each episode to reach its end.
This cringe inducing sitcom will leave viewers wishing that just like how Netflix killed the Blockbuster franchise, that they kill any chance of this receiving a season two.
