Review: Extraordinary - Season One
Adrift in a big, confusing world and armed with nothing but a bit of hope and a lot of desperation, Jen begins her journey to find her maybe-superpower; in doing so, she might discover the joy of being just kind of okay.
Máiréad Tyers, Sofia Oxenham, Bilal Hasner, and Luke Rollason
I am absolutely astonished by how much I loved the latest series to hit Disney+, Extraordinary—after a long list of originals that people either haven’t really watched or have received an abundance of middling-to-bad reviews, this 8 episode British comedy found a way to charm its viewers with each coming episode through its wacky sense of humour and loveable cast of characters.
It’s not flawless; with its silly sense of humour being a weird mixture of British and American comedy, some may find it simply too ridiculous or offbeat to be entertained by it. While it worked consistently for me, many of the jokes will simply put a few audiences members off, though fans of sitcoms and brit-coms will be thoroughly entertained in the same vein that I was myself. On top of that though, the writing in the middle of the season does feel like it takes a slight hit. Episode Five stood out to me in particular for not being all that interesting, and very clearly a filler episode to bridge the gap between the small plot threads that we got to build up the season’s last episodes. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s bad by any means, but it does find itself stuck being little more than okay.
That being said though, I’d struggle to find myself giving any other episode a rating below seven out of ten, and the sheer joy the finale gave me from its characters and feel-good writing made it a light fave stars for me easily. I have very few issues with this show, because even when it’s purely dumb fun, dumb fun it is. In fact, fun is probably the best word I could use to describe this absolutely wonderful little comedy series.
It’s pure entertainment through and through, and it’s nice, warm colour palette and lovely (albeit rather typical, good-looking sitcom) cinematography only help to draw you in to this feel-good world. With all the characters being so well played by their actors, you can’t help but fall in love with them, which helps all the emotional beats in the finale truly land, hence why I bumped it up to a weak five stars there. Luke Rollason and Máiréad Tyers are easily the stand outs here: Tyers leads the show with bucketloads of bitterly hilarious chemistry, while Rollason perfectly sells the concept of a man being trapped in the body of a cat for years as he re-adjusts to the world as a human.
The show thrives on its unusual concepts like those, but the realer moments like those in the last few episodes between Carrie and Kash in their relationship are what make the show worth it. All the stupid and weird superpowers we get to meet during the course of the show are a ridiculous treat to watch, and are utilised very well for what it is they wish to achieve.
I was drawn in immediately by the immensely fun premiere episode, and there’s enough wacky charm to keep you watching on an episode-to-episode basis in the way most of the classic and beloved sitcoms do. I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t hold this on the same level as some of the best seasons of Friends, or almost on the same level of great seasons of other beloved TV comedies like Brooklyn Nine-Nine or How I Met Your Mother.
Extraordinary is truly as it’s title suggests: while some might not love it due to its offbeat, weird concept and silly sense of humour, but anybody who finds themselves casually enjoying most of the popular sitcoms will love this small gem of a show as much as I did. Never dipping below an okay episode, and simultaneously crafting a cast of likeable characters, a uniquely funny concept, investing relationships, and emotional (if cliche) sitcom-like moments, this wonderful first season stands above generic TV comedy heights as an already underrated and highly enjoyable experience.
