I found this show by way of watching a random interview about comics on YouTube, wherein the show-runner, Max Landis, hyperactive-ly explained the plot. I decided to give it a shot. Nine hours later I had finished the whole show in one run with breaks only to cook food that I ate in front of my laptop.
I don't know how to accurately describe the tone and feel of the show. On the one hand it has the kinda-quirky "Doctor Who" vibe wherein characters act insane only for the plot to fall in line behind their actions, but it also has a grittiness and grungy feel to it. Characters are written so that they can be lovable and evil or darkly- endearing. It's a very strange, multi-layered vibe throughout the show.
What I absolutely loved, above all else, was the character of Bart, a "holistic assassin" who randomly, violently, and gruesomely murders people with zero remorse while looking rather terrifying. Not only is it a refreshing change of pace to not somehow tie violence to sexuality with a female character, which they don't do with Bart (the name is short for Bartine, apparently), but it's also pretty insane how they make a character start off seeming like a sociopath monster only to sway the audience into genuinely loving her by the end of the season. I think the last show to do that for me was "Orphan Black."
It's not a show you can have playing in the background while you do other things around the house. The little clues, the sometimes frantic dialogue, and the physical performances actually require you to give it your full attention if you don't want to feel lost. A lot of the negative reviews say they skipped through large chunks, which I think would ruin it for anyone. And it doesn't follow the source material apparently (I never read the books), so if that's a deal-breaker, you'll hate it.
But it's an insane little show that is fun, quirky, charming, violent, dark, gritty, and whimsical all in one. And if you watch it for no other reason, check it out to see Fiona Dourif as Bart, because that has to be one of the strangest and coolest characters I've seen in recent memory.
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