While many of us (including this media outlet) took part in the annual festivities of making fools out of everyone, the first day of April 2019 brought a much-anticipated event.
Yesterday was the series premiere of Jordan Peele’s resurrection of the classic television series The Twilight Zone. Peele, along with Key & Peele writing partner Alex Rubens, Simon Kinberg, and a few others, have reimagined the 1959 horror/thriller anthology series specifically for CBS All Access, the network subscription-based streaming service. While the entire series will be available only on the streaming network, the first episode—”The Comedian”—has been made available for free on YouTube as well as for Amazon Prime subscribers.
In “The Comedian,” actor/comedian Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, Central Intelligence) plays Samir Wassan, a struggling comedian whose act isn’t garnering the audience reaction he’s hoped for. Down and out at the bar, Samir’s fate is altered when he meets the legendary comedian J.C. Wheeler (played by Tracy Morgan). Wheeler bestows his comedy knowledge upon Samir—that his act should revolve around his personal life if he wants to succeed—but warns him that there’s a price for his thirst for fame and success. As Samir incorporates people from his circle into his act, the audience eats it up and erupts into laughter. However, he notices a frightening side effect: every person mentioned in his act ends up being erased from existence, with only Samir being aware of them ever existing.
Related – Jordan Peele Looks To Continue Destroying The Myths About Representation In The Film Industry
Written by Rubens and directed by Owen Harris (Black Mirror), the episode continues the original series’ tradition of a story’s protagonist making a deal with the devil. In this case, a comedian in desperate need of becoming a rising star. Additionally, the episode hammers home what performers have to sacrifice to get their moment in the spotlight, along with the undertone of how the social media age has society posting every moment of their lives just for some likes. Rubens develops a well-paced thrill ride that is enhanced by the haunting visuals provided by Harris. All of this leading up to a twist finale done in perfect Twilight Zone fashion.
With just over a week since the huge theatrical release of Us, Jordan Peele once again scores a win.
Grade: A
What did you think of “The Comedian” episode? Leave your comments below!
Don’t forget to share this post on your Facebook wall and with your Twitter followers! Just hit the buttons on the top of this page.
Source: YouTube.
FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS
Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoG, Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube!
Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play
