Avenue 5

:

Season 1
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 19, 2020
Season #: 2, 1
User Score
4.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 49 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 49
  3. Negative: 17 out of 49
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User Reviews

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  1. UncleWillard
    Jan 19, 2020
    4
    Nah. Trying to be the Orville or maybe loosely Red Dwarf, but its all over the place. I like Billie, but only because she's hot. So much not really going on here.
  2. thats_me
    Feb 8, 2020
    9
    Took a while (the first two episodes) to get into it. While the first two were not much funny, the third one got me. Excellent cast, fantastic set. Don't give up too early and also do not expect to get a Veep II or copy of any previous show by Armando Iannucci.

    This is not Orville and does not want to be like it. The whole show is more like watching a social experiment or an ant farm    Took a while (the first two episodes) to get into it. While the first two were not much funny, the third one got me. Excellent cast, fantastic set. Don't give up too early and also do not expect to get a Veep II or copy of any previous show by Armando Iannucci.

    This is not Orville and does not want to be like it. The whole show is more like watching a social experiment or an ant farm going crazy. It is set in space but could be placed everywhere else with a bunch of wanna-bes and impostors on a collision course. Hilarious!    … Expand
  3. Furrygopher
    Jan 22, 2020
    3
    I gave it a shot solely because of Hugh Laurie, he didn’t carry me to the end, i just don’t get what the creators are trying here, its got some of the hallmarks of great British comedies but they have been bastardised as if they are aiming for an American audience, there is a Douglas Adams vibe in the setting, a big fake cruise so confident in its automation that all the crew areI gave it a shot solely because of Hugh Laurie, he didn’t carry me to the end, i just don’t get what the creators are trying here, its got some of the hallmarks of great British comedies but they have been bastardised as if they are aiming for an American audience, there is a Douglas Adams vibe in the setting, a big fake cruise so confident in its automation that all the crew are essentially just actors incapable of facing catastrophe, but the scope is too big, British comedy doesn't work with large ensembles, there is no identifiable straight man to tether the crazy too and the characters are too pigeon holed into roles, someone desperately needed to be on set to tell all the actors “never go full retard”

    Compare these characters to say Dave Lister, yes he is a slob and yes he is stupid and yes he’s thrown into wacky catastrophe in episode 1 but his reactions to this are believable and relatable and thats where the humour came from, Dave was never full retard slob, he was that roommate you had at Uni slob.

    Or to Hugh’s own prince/lieutenant George the mans a caricature of British upper class which made his isolated madness and general ignorance of reality a cross that the normal man personified as blackadder must bear. Even george wasn't full retard ignorant snob

    The engineer seems like shes set up to be the straight man, but making her responsible for a death in the first half robs her of that and she cant be everywhere at once to balance out the infuriating interactions between stock unfaithful couple with stock nihilist PR guy or stock busybody with stock rich moron.    … Expand
  4. teawls
    Jan 21, 2020
    9
    This is the next best thing to a new Douglas Adams show. A slow burn, but right on the money. Well worth your 30 minutes.
  5. Bibliographer
    Jan 21, 2020
    4
    Good production values & reasonable performances in service of dumb jokes and cruel snark passing for wit. Just not my taste.
  6. OlivierPiel
    Jan 21, 2020
    0
    Stopped 25 min in. Not a funny moment. Rather, the definition of "cringe": Bad jokes, clichéd characters.
    A good lesson for would-be writers:
    Satire cuts both ways: You better be sharp or the joke is on you.
  7. KeenWatcher
    Feb 9, 2020
    0
    I tried so hard to like this but the humour is not there. It had all the makings of a funny sci fi and Hugh Laurie - but it’s just silly and has rough edges. Cannot recommend.
  8. Wibblezork
    Jan 24, 2020
    0
    Fails as a comedy and also fails to be compelling, dislikeable characters, bad plot. The only positive thing I can say is it looks like they've spent (or more like wasted) money on this as the sets and cg are pretty good.

    As others have said if you want light hearted or comedy sci-fi go watch the Orville or Red Dwarf both are fair better.
  9. Spiralus
    Sep 28, 2021
    2
    It's really weird this got made. It seems to dwell for a good portion of the season on a joke that it took wall-e ten minutes to make ten years ago. "idiocracy crony capitalism may wind up landing ignorant people in space ships that they don't understand how to fly. The rich mostly play at being productive while the real heroes slave away in obscurity." The problem with these jokes is thatIt's really weird this got made. It seems to dwell for a good portion of the season on a joke that it took wall-e ten minutes to make ten years ago. "idiocracy crony capitalism may wind up landing ignorant people in space ships that they don't understand how to fly. The rich mostly play at being productive while the real heroes slave away in obscurity." The problem with these jokes is that they wouldn't be funny even if they were accurate enough to resonate. Nobody interested in science fiction isn't aware of programs like space x.
    All the characters that you're supposed to take for granted have serious existential problems. . as in I've never met or seen any version of them in existence. A captain who hasn't worked hard for their job, a space program owner who doesn't understand engineering, a nihilists who isn't in high school, crew that is only show, people who think American accents are more authoritative than British accents (never existed just hasn't I'm American we love British accents a lot and always have they specifically sound authoritative)
    Ironically the diverse engineering team is by far the most believable part of the show - which somehow seems to be thematically problematic since they're clearly meant to be a narrative flip except they're already the most believable part and it's still now - whereas the show is set in the future, where it will presumably be more diverse? It's all a bit sadly angry ignorant college cry. If it's just meant as a bit of funny fun then the themes shouldn't be allegorical - or at least it should be allegory that is somewhat reflective of reality on any level.
    I understand that some people may find the allegories compelling. . . that's sad for them I guess. I hope they can do good things despite misunderstanding reality so deeply. People often do.

    There are millions of little misunderstandings about real life and accidentally self defeating loop holes throughout. For example the "real engineering team" works in dirty disorganized spaces and don't appear to shower even though nobody is making them. This is not only a poor reflection of the actual behavior of ship crews but seems to insult the people that are supposed to be the heroes. It's hideous mistreatment is probably the funniest part of the show.

    Icing on the poo pie is that the musical score is for some other show entirely. It's just face spankingly bad. Over and over.

    Also it's a space show that trashes the only astronaut character. . . huh? There's plenty of funny things to do with an astronaut character but they make fun of him mainly for being a nerd. he's not cool hahaha, nobody will have sex with him hahaha . . in a sci-fi. . it's baffling.

    Maybe next time hire writers who are curious about meaning instead of children who think they have answers. Also having writers who like the source material would be smart.    … Expand
  10. RainZ
    Jan 22, 2020
    8
    Avenue 5 looks really promising. I love the basic premise of the show and I have no doubt Armando Ianucci will fully exploit the show’s comical potential in future episodes. I’m on board!
  11. OuterThought
    Jan 21, 2020
    8
    Seems witty and interesting and really want to see where its going so far seems entertaining. I don't see how this is trying to be Orville or how this is "all over the place" especially considering it was only a 30 minute pilot episode but hope to see more
  12. geewah
    Jan 31, 2021
    7
    While not to the same standard as the The Thick Of It or Veep, Armando Iannucci's sci-fi comedy is still a funny journey.

Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Most Discussed TV Season of 2020
85
#85 Most Shared TV Season of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
64

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 28
  3. Negative: 2 out of 28
  1. The Detroit News
    Reviewed by: Tom Long
    Aug 14, 2020
    50
    “Avenue 5” seems more likely to just drift off into the void. There are, of course, good people at work here. Hugh Laurie stars as the spaceship’s clueless commander, Josh Gad is the clueless zillionaire funding the spaceship, Suzy Nakamura plays the tycoon’s clueless assistant. You get the drift.
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  2. The Times
    Reviewed by: Carol Midgley
    Feb 7, 2020
    40
    Avenue 5 has a great premise, an excellent cast and, in its creator, Armando Iannucci, a satirical comedy genius at its helm. So how come it wasn't very funny? ... This still feels like something Iannucci might have done at the beginning of his career, not at its peak.
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  3. The Independent
    Reviewed by: Sean O'Grady
    Jan 23, 2020
    100
    Avenue 5 is not just good – it’s galactically good.
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