Television Review - 2017 (Part 3): #4 Viewing Experience of 2017, Master of None

I spoke fondly of Season One of Master of None, Aziz Ansari and (former Fire Joe Morgan writer) Alan Yang's show about a small-time actor who's the son of Indian immigrants. The show's premise lends itself to exploration of several things, such as the difficulty of adapting to living in a new place, how the associated culture clash affects children of those who carry old traditions with them, and racism both inside and outside of the entertainment industry. However, while these themes are very important to what makes Master of None work, it's Ansari's work as Dev Shah that makes the show such an addicting watch. Dev navigates situations that are completely ordinary, yet very in tune with the human experience and Ansari has a somewhat difficult-to-describe way of getting the viewer invested in it all.

Dev's character is extremely engaging; he seems able to communicate comfortably with just about everyone and is very willing to try out new experiences. In fact, if there's one knock on the realism of the show, it seems like Dev is a little too good at social interaction. He's "on" all the time, which makes it a little too noticeable that you're watching a TV character. However, I guess I've met a person or two like that in my life, so maybe that sentiment is just me being envious of people who can pull that off.

Master of None Season Two picks up a little ways after Season One left off. Dev moves to Italy and he's in an apprenticeship as a pasta maker. The journey to Italy is short-lived, but it introduces us to Francesca, a woman who will eventually become a charming late-season love interest for Dev despite her engagement to another man (with whom she's clearly not satisfied). The season premiere, which is shot in black and white, is one of the seasons's strongest episodes. It's supposed to be a nod to Italian cinema, and I'll confess, all of that was totally lost on me, but still, it was a lot of fun watching Dev and the boy, Mario, troll around Italy to search for Dev's stolen phone so that he might reconnect with Sara, a woman with whom he had a successful first date. Another standout episode was "Thanksgiving", which follows Dev's friend Denise and her changing relationships with her family as she comes out as gay, told through a series of Turkey Day flashbacks.

Also excellent was "New York, I Love You", which shifts the focus away from Dev entirely and puts background characters at the forefront. It was a great moment for Master of None, as it proves that the show is great at storytelling even without relying on its charismatic lead. Similar to Louie before it, Master of None doesn't set any boundaries for itself and is free to follow its whims to tell whatever tale it likes. With Ansari and Yang at the helm, there's plenty of reason to believe they'll be successful no matter what they'd like to try.

In this age of limitless shows to check out (seriously, there are too many, we need to have an agreement to hard-cap the number of shows so that we can actually talk to each other about common viewings again), Master of None continually pops up when recommendations for Netflix stuff are solicited, so I think that says a great deal about how good it is. If you haven't seen it, give it a go.

Season Grade: A