• Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: May 20, 2016
Season #: 2, 1
User Score
6.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 94 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 94
  2. Negative: 22 out of 94
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User Reviews

  1. Dec 30, 2016
    9
    This show is absolutely brilliant and experimental. Although sometimes it's a bit to experimental and weird for its own good. Maria Bamford has found a unique voice amongst her cast.
  2. May 30, 2016
    7
    It took about three episodes to get into its comic rhythm though I found the concept interesting and intriguing from the get-go. I didn't really get out strong laughs until episode 4 and 5... currently working my way through the second half of the season. I agree with the reviewer who says it is not always lol funny, but there is something about the unique nature of the show and the mainIt took about three episodes to get into its comic rhythm though I found the concept interesting and intriguing from the get-go. I didn't really get out strong laughs until episode 4 and 5... currently working my way through the second half of the season. I agree with the reviewer who says it is not always lol funny, but there is something about the unique nature of the show and the main character that keeps me watching. When she is on... she is really on... but sadly not always consistent. I'm going with 7 for the innovative feel of the execution and for the peaks. If the second half doesn't deliver as strongly I could see wanting to decrease it to a 5. Currently feels like a 5-7 show. The series has a lot of room to become an 8-10 though. I do love the echo of Arrested Development flowing beneath it all. Expand
  3. May 22, 2016
    10
    I think this show is a brilliant and hilarious portrayal of bipolar disorder and depression. It has the offbeat pacing of Arrested Development with time travel and 4th wall breaks mixed in. It gives the show a manic feel that is hard to keep up with at times, but is definitely worth it. I've never seen anything like it.
  4. May 22, 2016
    9
    Netflix has given a platform for comedians that has opened up the possibilities for what television comedy can be in the non network age. Aziz Ansari's Master of None and even Bill Burr's F is for Family retained the voice and attitude of the creators, and now Maria Bamford has upped the ante with a comedy that, God bless her, feels as bipolar as she is. Lady Dynamite, with the greatNetflix has given a platform for comedians that has opened up the possibilities for what television comedy can be in the non network age. Aziz Ansari's Master of None and even Bill Burr's F is for Family retained the voice and attitude of the creators, and now Maria Bamford has upped the ante with a comedy that, God bless her, feels as bipolar as she is. Lady Dynamite, with the great Superbad/ 70's style opening, is such an appropriate title, as Maria can, and will explode, with joy, or doubt, or confusion, at any given moment. The supporting cast is phenomenal. Any show that can make Brandon Routh hilarious (he gives a throw away line about Andy Kindler that is priceless), is doing something right. Expand
  5. May 23, 2016
    10
    the opening of this series made me howl like a wolf who just drank a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Code Red. I can't believer I'd never heard of Maria Bamford before this show. She is exactly the type of woman I like: good looks and low self esteem. I love it with my heart and my mind and my mouth.
  6. Jun 8, 2018
    10
    Maria Bamford is realistic about her mental health issues. Her character on the show is an exaggeration of how she really feels. She feels isolated, alone, different, crazy, and awkward. She really feels like that in real life. This show is important because she's able to show her imperfect self to others and it lets others know that it's okay. This show is funny, and it has dark moments,Maria Bamford is realistic about her mental health issues. Her character on the show is an exaggeration of how she really feels. She feels isolated, alone, different, crazy, and awkward. She really feels like that in real life. This show is important because she's able to show her imperfect self to others and it lets others know that it's okay. This show is funny, and it has dark moments, but all of our lives have dark moments. I can't believe NETFLIX canceled it! We need Maria and her show more than EVER! People have issues and need to learn how to cope with them! Maria helps people do that. Corporations that make all the decisions with their money hungry ways sicken me. Expand
  7. Jan 24, 2021
    8
    One of 2016's real hidden gems.
    Maria Bamford is a tour de force in this surreal, courageous, and deeply funny look at mental health.
Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    May 25, 2016
    80
    I didn’t laugh very frequently watching Lady Dynamite, but I was never less than absorbed by it.
  2. Reviewed by: Caroline Framke
    May 23, 2016
    80
    With the confidence of a show that knows exactly what it wants to be--and with the titanic Bamford anchoring every scene with incredible empathy and generosity, Lady Dynamite manages to stand out amid the constantly churning fray of television by being entirely, proudly itself.
  3. Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    May 20, 2016
    100
    It is cheerful, dark, surreal, profane, aspirational, meta-fictional and packed with people playing versions of themselves or other people entirely (or playing versions of themselves playing other people entirely); it plays with visual and verbal puns, with moods and acting styles and moves around in time and dimension. And while these are elements of many modern comedies--it owes something to "It's Garry Shandling's Show," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "30 Rock," "The Sarah Silverman Program," Hurwitz's "Arrested Development" and the cracked spirit of Adult Swim--I have never seen them assembled in quite this way, or with quite so much gusto.