Think of Black Mirror, but less depressing…
Jordan Peele has a lot on his plate right now.
On top of delivering his big screen follow-up to Get Out, the even-scarier looking Us (check out the trailer for that right here), he is also executive-producing the remake of hit scary show The Twilight Zone (which also has a trailer you check out, here).
Not content with that, he is also one of the minds behind new YouTube Originals series Weird City, which is a comedy-sci-fi, not a million miles away from the lighter-in-tone episodes of Black Mirror.
For those without a subscription to the YouTube streaming service, you can actually check out the first 30-minute episode below, which features Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) and Dylan O’Brien (Maze Runner) who are two self-identifying straight men who are paired together by a dating service that claims to find perfect matches for their clients.
They soon develop a friendship, and it is only when the service’s founder (LeVar Burton – Star Trek: The Next Generation) tries to separate them that they realise they’d actually rather remain in each other’s lives…
Clip via YouTube Originals
So far, some of the reviews for the new show have some very nice things to say:
“What matters is that the world-building is fast and funny; jokes about this dystopian culture pop up in the background or get tucked into spare seconds of dialogue, but they’re never ignored. Weird City is very funny, but it puts story and characters above commentary all the way through.” – IndieWire
“What it lacks in mass it makes up in energy, wit and taking care to look good. .. Exuberant and even sunny, it’s tricked up with productive details and design, with small verbal and visual jokes you can’t call throwaway because all are there to build a world.” – Los Angeles Times
“Six half-hour episodes is a solid jumping off point for a series, especially in a time when season and episode-length can be a real problem. But Weird City is so fully-formed from the jump that it’s slightly disappointing you’ll be able to knock out the whole thing in just three hours.” – UPROXX
If you like the first episode, the other five episodes – which feature performances from the likes of Rosario Dawson, Michael Cera, Laverne Cox, Gillian Jacobs, Mark Hamill, and loads more besides – are available to watch on YouTube Premium.
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