Review of ‘Weird City’: YouTube Should Rethink Its ‘No More Scripted’ Initiative
Weird city : With shows like Impulse, Dallas & Robo, and Cobra Kai, YouTube Originals established that it is more than capable of competing with Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu.
Now, the streamer has proven itself ready to play with the gritty drama series Wayne at the start of 2019, and now with Weird City, its first foray into the anthology pool.
Weird City follows the citizens of Weird, a metropolis based on a very simple foundation: a line of demarcation between the haves and have nots, created by Charlie Sanders and Jordan Peele. No, there is a physical barrier between them.
Weird City isn’t another Black Mirror rip-off, nor is it another effort at a modern Twilight Zone, which is ironic given Jordan Peele’s upcoming attempt at the same thing.
No, the closest point of similarity for Weird is Hulu’s now-defunct anthology series Dimension 404.
Weird City, like the Dez Dolly-directed and Freddie Wong-produced series, exists in its own realm, with a style that appears cheap but accomplishes a lot with the resources available.
Weird does have one advantage over 404: access to a very specific amount of star power, which will make the series far more accessible than its spiritual brother.
These aren’t pushover YouTube celebrities no one over the age of sixteen has heard of: Ed O’Neill, Dylan O’Brien, Michael Cera, LeVar Burton, Laverne Cox, Rosario Dawson, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Sara Gilbert.
These are titles that provide a feeling of solemnity to a show that is otherwise quite frivolous.
And sure, these performers commit to some pretty out-of-character tales as early as the first episode, which manages to be both uplifting and make an audience think, “Wait, we’re actually going to do this?” “There is no way.”
Overall, Weird City delivers on its title’s promise. It’s very “out there,” and it’s worth looking into.
It’s not going to blast the doors off the anthology world like Black Mirror did, and it shouldn’t try.
What it will do is deliver a delightful sci-fi comedy/dramedy that will reward anyone who is prepared to take the ride.
And with it, the same audience will be left wondering why YouTube has chosen to abandon scripted as a notion, despite the fact that they are quite good at it.
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