This in first look may seem to be a cliché show about young friends trying to put together a life in Chicago... but once you start following subsequent episodes, believe me.. it's kinda fun. It reminds us in our mundane lives, that how friendships and true bondings are important to support one another and go through good and not so good times and circumstances.It's a youthful and enthusiastic show, which gives us a surprisingly refreshing view and a positive outlook towards, people, friendships, relations and lives all together, with keeping the background quiet realistic in today's modern American big city life. A good show indeed... of course for those who get the hang of it...!
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parmesh-bugalia20 November 2012
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PaulVilla29 November 2012From the fourth episode onwards, 'UnderEmployed' just works. It finds the right tone, the characters become real, and the story arc becomes addictive.
The most important thing you need to understand about 'UnderEmployed' is that it is essentially a "teen" genre show. Given the seriousness of the title & age of the characters, many will likely expect the dark/cynical realism of HBO's "Girls" & "Hung". Instead, a better comparison would be shows like 'Pretty Little Liars', 'Jane By Design', or 'Vampire Diaries'.
If you have watched and enjoyed those teen shows, you will have noticed that most have rough starts. That is usually because the writers struggle with just how "obvious" to make things for a younger audience. The characters are introduced as annoying caricatures they are either too perky, too morose, or too evil. The stories seem to be going nowhere interesting there is no compelling arc that makes you excited for the next episode. This was a problem for all the teen shows I previously mentioned...and it is definitely a problem with the first three episodes of 'UnderEmployed'.
Thankfully (like a lot of successfully executed teen shows) 'UnderEmployed' finds itself by the fourth episode. As of this review, episodes 4/5/6/7 have aired. The characters have become comfortable in their own skin, so you begin to admire them as real human-beings. The dialogue has become more subtle & clever, which increases the emotional punch & LOL! factor of the scenes. Most importantly, you notice that each character MATTERS as an individual despite their friendship, each is on a unique and compelling journey with no guarantee of success. All this leaves you wanting MORE after each episode.
One additional note about "characters"...'Vampire Diaries' viewers will know that the secret of the shows success is that the supporting characters are treated with as much care & respect as the main characters. They don't merely exist as "challenges" to the main characters they have humanity of their own. I have noticed a similar thing with 'UnderEmployed'. From the fourth episode onwards, Lou & Daphne's bosses get "shades of grey"...and this makes the workplace scenes way more funny & interesting. More importantly, we are introduced to the compelling supporting characters of Jamel & Bekah. They are such unique & developed individuals, you will come to think of them as main cast members.
One note of praise about the acting & writing in recent episodes...there are a series of beautiful scenes between the new character Jamel & a regular character in the series (name withheld to avoid spoilers). The writers could have easily bombarded those scenes with snappy dialogue and raw physicality but instead, they allowed the actors to employ silence & express awkwardness. As a result, we get scenes of great emotional poignancy & incredible tension. I hope 'UnderEmployed' continues to take creative risks like this.
To think...a few weeks ago, I was about to post a harsh review of this show. Now I am praising it and craving more!. -
maja-kleme225 February 2013This week i saw on Mtv commercial for Underemployed show...Three days ago i downloaded it and now i just watched the last episode and all i can say is: I Loove it^^ I really love it because it's set it today's economy and it's not like some other shows where the economy is almost always good,so that gave me that feeling...There are 5 best friends which are our/my age, and when i watched the show, i got that feeling like i was a part of their group... ^^ they are having fun, but they are also trying to make money and start their lives, which gave me some inspiration... All i can say...I recommend this show and i hope there will be a season 2^^
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r-i-plover10128 October 2012I watched this show one late night not really knowing what to expect... Then I found that I love this show!! It's about dreams not always coming true but people making the best of what they have.5 friends trying to live their life in New York and make something of themselves might sound a bit cliché to most but I found this show very different from the rest and now i'm hopelessly addicted! Most people can actually connect with this show because it's very true and real that dreams almost never come true. And you have to work hard in life which is what this show is all about. Especially in New York where everyone is just a little fish in a big pond which is what they are trying to relate to this series.
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sophieklavervijf15 March 2013Underemployed is one of the best shows i have ever seen on MTV. To me it looks quit realistic, because being underemployed is a very big problem here in Australia and maybe other countries too.. Sophia struggles with her sexuality and Lou and Reveva with raising Rosemary. At the same time Miles and Daphne are starting to like each other more then just friends, which usually happens if you end up being roommates with your best mate.It's also really cool that everything got filmed in Chicago. In other TV shows they always show people it took place in LA but it actually got place in like NY or something... This makes it more realistic, to give people a real look on how it is to live in Chicago when you are underemployed.I really really really like this show and i am definitely hoping there will be a next season! Please MTV, make sure there will be a SEASON 2!!!
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demetrius1130 January 2013This series is about a group of very beautiful people (!) who have absolutely no reason to be friends. The actors are decent but the character development is extremely bad. All the characters are very shallow, and the scrip lucks any kind of creativity. The situations that the "friends" get into are scripted terribly, and things happen out of the blue with the lame excuse of "youth". "Youth" is not an excuse for poor writing though, and just using very cute faces is not enough to make a good show. I am curious to see if this show will be on air for much longer. I hope that MTV will spend more for writers in the future.
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viggyjiggy17 October 2012I watched the show just to pass my time and sleepy with no interest of liking it.. But I'm loving it!! Well now I'm in a trace of realizing what life may take me.. And its so true that what we want or dream of or expect never happens.. This is one show that shows, things may not happen the way we always wanted, still have something that makes a difference and something to look for. And loved all the "FIVE" characters.. Sofia : confused and waiting for that special time Miles : dreamer Daphne : aggressive and i freaking love her Lou : expect the unexpected Raviva : now a mother.. Screw what some people may or may not agree with spoiler's.. Guys and gals (20 - 30 ) ages you will love it Enjoy...
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The show starts out with a narrator on a laptop talking about their life, much like MTV's hit show 'Awkward', which I do enjoy watching. The harsh stereotypes that this show has almost hurts, it's so cliché to any other MTV show that is out right now. I must also say that every scripted show MTV has out (ex. US Version of 'The Inbetweeners') has failed with a bad rating and low weekly viewing rating. You see a stereotype of friends with benefits, 20 year old virgins, and unpaid interns. They also live in a beautiful NEW YORK apartment, even though their unpaid, unemployed or working at a donut shop. This show isn't the worse, but it isn't the best. Not something you want to stay up till 11pm watching.
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stev_kimy_mike6 January 2013This show grew up so much since episode 1. I've just watched episode 11 and I found the plot really catchy. It's simply close to reality and it's worth watching. The stories of these 5 friends are just getting better each new episode and for common newbies in real world... I found it helpful, if you get it. Daphne's story line couldn't get any better and what it goes for Miles, who's now sort of hooked up with the messed up girl with no control on spending matters(Daphne)... Well, they turned out to be a great couple in the end. Right, I had some doubts because of the friendship background history they had. Sophia is taking risks, getting more wild and out of her shell... basically she is starting to live, and this couldn't have been more right for her writer career. Lou and Raviva are dealing with so much at the same time... They are such a catch to keep up with. And by the way Raviva's songs are a cool add to this show that has all the ingredients to work out. I just hope MTV doesn't cancel it.
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ddwils23 November 2012Great Series. I have caught up and watched the first six episodes. I am really liking all the characters especially Miles, Sophia and Daphne. This show is now something that I am looking forward to each week. I encourage everyone to watch the first few episodes and let yourself get to know the characters so you can enjoy this show as much as myself. Each week I learn more about each character and like them even more. The show leaves me wondering what is going to happen next. This series reminds me of my favorite show of all time "Friends" I don't usually watch MTV but for this show is different. It is well done and entertaining.
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jimdougher22 November 2012One normally doesn't associate good television with MTV, but, in the dampening surge (too soon Jerzy Shore?) of the reality TV craze it gets credit for birthing, the network gets high marks for setting their sights on a young, vastly more ironic and less literal target audience that must be seen/heard/texted. With Teen Wolf having faired well in its first two back to back seasons, MTV recently introduced Underemployed to offer a more real, if not natural, slice of young adult life. The show focuses on a tightly knit group of 5 friends who've vowed post college graduation, the shows outset, to realize their lives' ambitions today, tomorrow, whenever as long as it's as quickly as possible. Fast forward 1 year hence and we learn learn all has not gone as planned and all 5 of our friends are far short of their benchmark. We, the audience, get to participate as they try to fill the gap b/w the now and last year's now by leaning on their collective want for greatness in spite of their challenging, and that's probably too mild a word, set of circumstances. The best part about this show, besides being more real than the Seaside shenanigans airing weekly, is that it's relatable (and if you can't, it wasn't written for you anyway), its dialogue is well-written, and it's often pee-pants funny. Enjoy, if you are so inclined; I know I do and will. -JD
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ein-mein-eid18 November 2012Underemployed - is the first show that made me post a review -that's how bad it is ) The series follows daily routine of a group of lowlifes. Very poorly directed and even worse acted out. A bunch of spiteful remarks, made by some of the characters certainly do not add charm to it. Just another one in a series of many others banal and ignorant MTV products with pretty easily recognizable target audience. I still have no idea what made me watch the first two episodes. I guess, I just wanted to be objective and fair to the show. So feel free to watch it as well and make up your own mind, but be ready to just waste another 40 minutes of your life.
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kirstyhalvorsen9 April 2013I've watched the whole season of Underemployed and I Loved it! Rarely do you like all the characters in a series but in Underemployed they are all really likable but also flawed like in real people. It's a bit like a modern day 'Friends' but better - it's funny and cool but with real story lines that actually touch upon subjects that affect real people today - money worries, employment worries, sexuality etc. There are some great actors in it too. I was really surprised by how good and how addictive Underemployed was, as MTV usually only has really bad reality shows on it, so I am really hoping they see sense and this show gets a second season!
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This show is pretty bad. The story lines seem pretty flimsy, the humour is mostly cringe worthy, and all the characters are irrational and unrealistic. It is a shame, because most of the actors are hot (with the exception of Lou) and the acting itself isn't terrible.
This could be a decent show, but as it stands it just seems like yet another desperate attempt by MTV to appeal to us 20-somethings feeling sorry for ourselves because 'lifes so hard'. It certainly falls short of that for me, but I can see it being a hit with kids who are fresh out of high school and expecting life to be all 'friends forever' and are gullible enough to believe that two adults and a baby can afford a 2 bedroom loft apartment on 1 salary.
I'm really surprised this crap came from the same person who produced Six Feet Under, because comparatively, this is a load of (not totally unwatchable, but still stinky) garbage.