Month: May 2023

The Muppets Mayhem (2023)

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: Ten 25-minute episodes
Synopsis: Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem get a family sitcom
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: puppets, consistent characters, funny enough
What I don’t like about it: not very funny, forced drama, musical numbers, tiresome cameos

Review:
We’re introduced to legendary touring band Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, who have never recorded an album, and Nora (Lilly Singh) who works for a failing record label. When Nora discovers an unfulfilled contract for a Mayhem album, she believes she can save the label, but corralling Muppets is never an easy task.

The script could have used a few more passes, there’s too much exposition about Nora’s dead dad and the endless cameos are mostly expendable. The musical numbers are horrific and it wasn’t a good idea to have screechy puppet voices cover “classic” rock songs as much as they did. Whether to watch this one depends how much you like the Muppets, I don’t regret it but I’d watch them file taxes.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): drug references

Rap Shit (2022)

Where to find it: No UK streaming
Length: Eight 30-minute episodes
Synopsis: Odd couple form a rap duo
Recommendation rating: 5/5

What I like about it: great comedy in first half, great drama in second; knows itself well
What I don’t like about it: Instagram gimmick feels forced (but is used less as the series goes)

Review:
Shawna is an independent conscious hip hop artist. She was briefly signed to a big-shot producer but after refusing to compromise her artistic vision for commercial success, she is now working in a Miami hotel and posting topical political raps to an Instagram audience of a dozen people. She reconnects with her old friend Mia, a confident beautician and dancer, and convinces her to start a rap duo after they drunkenly freestyle. The two are opposites in many ways: Mia is outgoing and likes dancing to popular rap with her friends in clubs, Shawna sits alone in her apartment ranting about how popular rap is vapid. They attempt to overcome this and find fame with the help of a hustling local pimp and Shawna’s sideline in credit card fraud.

The show is really funny and its biggest strength is that it doesn’t make a single concession for a broader audience: this is a show by and for Black women, not one line is wasted on awkward exposition and although I’m outside of that target audience, I found it much better for it. It has great satire on the rap game and its portrayal of chasing fame in that field seems cynically realistic (the show is loosely based on City Girls, who also consult).

Content notes (may contain spoilers): explicit sex, sex work, drugs