Suburgatory User Reviews

As Tessa is narrating about the dominance of moms in suburbia, she and her dad in their car halt next to an adjacent car with a mom lip-synching to gangsta rap (Office Space reference?). "What is it with these mothers?!" she says, as she slinks back into her seat. George, her dad replies with, "They're people, OK. Just like you and me."

Created by Emily Kapnek, Suburgatory follows a single dad and his teenage daughter who move to the suburbs for a more sheltered life. Due to an unfortunate run with dad finding condoms in her room, they move from Manhattan to the Suburbs. Tessa's mom left her after the womb, which is a situation I haven't come across much in tv shows or movies, and I hope that's expanded upon later. Tessa has to deal with this new world of suburban girls who dress like skanks (with their moms encouraging it), and their obsession with Red Bull ("That's how they keep their weight under 80 pounds!").

Mall Skanks

The reason why this first episode works so well is because of the great world-building, sharp comedic writing, timing, editing, and chemistry between Tessa and her dad. Yes, Tessa is a snarky teenager much like Emma Stone in Easy A (and Jane Levy looks just like her!), but her abrasive personality allows for some biting jokes on this hyperbolic depiction of suburbia. Also, her boots make for lesbian jokes. At school, she needs to confront her villain in the form of the queen bitch, Dahlia, as they're paired for "buddies". Her sweet father played by that creepy brother in Six Feet Under (Jeremy Sisto) is willing to give suburbanites a chance after he runs into the "mall queen" mom, Dallas (Cheryl Hines). She takes Tessa and George Altman to the mall to get Tessa in touch with her feminine side but her arch-villain is also Dallas' daughter. She might be too perky but shows the duo that these suburbanites are humans, too, in the form of a weirdly charming gift.

My only real issue is not a quality one. This was a great pilot but the show looks really expensive. There is vibrancy in the colors and the cinematography is sharp. I hope they don't blow their wad too early. I'm hooked, and hope the quality of writing stays along with all the colorful characters. The cast is great, and I see this show going places. While drinking Red Bull in short shorts.