- Network: Apple TV
- Series Premiere Date: Apr 16, 2025
Critic Reviews
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There’s an intriguing, wilful surrealism here: it’s like looking at the American dream in the back of a spoon. Halfway through the 10 (largely half-hourish) episodes, however, and the studied whimsy starts to weigh a little heavy.
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The cast is game, although their characters’ relationship to reality is frequently estranged. Mr. Oyelowo plays Hampton as a kind of Candide, an optimist in spite of everything and forgiving of almost anything. If this seems an absurdist way to conduct oneself, Hampton finds himself in the proper story.
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There’s a lot about it I loved and enjoyed, but it suffers from the same problem as so many other prestige TV shows: were this a two-hour film, it could be brilliant. Dragging out a high-concept surrealist comedy to 10 episodes cannot help but dull its impact.
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What “Government Cheese” really needs is a heavy dose of the ambition present in the streamer’s first and best attempt at the sub-genre, “For All Mankind.” Without that, it hardly registers at all.
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Government Cheese lacks the storytelling substance to go with the attractive surfaces. It’s not even trying to go anywhere with purpose: it would rather just mosey eccentrically.
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All but devoid of inspired storytelling or stylistic daring, the mild eccentricities of this series only ever feel, at best, like an affectation.
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Instead of making something miraculous out of rudimentary materials, Government Cheese has a pantry of fine ingredients but never puts together anything palatable.