Master of None

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Nov 6, 2015
Season #: 3, 2, 1
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 569 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 450 out of 569
  2. Mixed: 54 out of 569
  3. Negative: 65 out of 569

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User Reviews

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  1. JamesIrish68
    Feb 19, 2016
    5
    An Indian Seinfeld basically. Man child character and his friends. Doesn't try to shock or offend and is mostly pleasant with the occasional smile. No way a 9 out of 10...The original Seinfeld would warrant that...not this middle of the road stuff.
  2. cj4545
    Dec 2, 2015
    4
    Pretty surprised by the reviews. I'm pretty dang good at guessing metacritic scores. When I'm off, I attribute it to me being a idiot. On this one though, I'm actually a little skeptical.
  3. vgithaca
    Dec 7, 2015
    4
    Do we get a refund on bandwidth usage?
    This is another one of those over hyped shows that makes me question the legitimacy of super positive online reviews.
  4. Nickmal104
    Nov 17, 2015
    6
    I don't get everyone's hype behind this show. Let me say what I do like about it first. The show is shot beautiful and I think the wide aspect ratio was a nice choice that sets it apart from most comedies. Aziz is very charismatic and a likable lead. And the music supervision is some grade A stuff. What bothers me is the directing, particularly of the actors. They all sound like they'reI don't get everyone's hype behind this show. Let me say what I do like about it first. The show is shot beautiful and I think the wide aspect ratio was a nice choice that sets it apart from most comedies. Aziz is very charismatic and a likable lead. And the music supervision is some grade A stuff. What bothers me is the directing, particularly of the actors. They all sound like they're reading their lines for the first time. Everyone sounds so disjointed and off when they're conversing with each other. Denise and Brian especially. In fact the only one's who deliver their lines decently are Dev and Rachel. The writing is also average. I binged the show and the only episodes I remember somewhat decently are the Pilot, the parents episode, Nashville and the finale. And that to me is a glaring issue. Yes the stories come from a genuine and unique place, but it is how they unfold that is not very creative. My example is from the first episode where the mother just happened to forget she had a meeting the same day she was attending a birthday party with her kids, and she just sort of left them with Dev. We never see this character again after this episode. In fact that is another thing, characters other than Dev are not developed or fleshed out in the slightest. They feel like filler, and that feels like a waste when you have the talent of Eric Wareheim on your side. Also this is a personal gripe but I didn't find using his parents to work too well in the shows favor. i could see how people like it but their acting was so bad I couldn't get behind it. And yes I understand that's part of the fun but call me a stick in the mud I couldn't get past it. I only write out this long convoluted critique not to knock the show but to challenge this universal praise the show seems to get. It's not a bad show by any means but I've seen people say it's their favorite show of the year and I really dont understand why. Especially when the Leftovers is happening right now.… Expand
  5. Cik
    Dec 12, 2015
    5
    The show just seems mediocre at best. That is my review as a consumer of television entertainment. The show comes across as ham-handed, and as others have said, Man meets women, doesn't want to commit, regrets it a bit in a childish way and talks too much about it.
  6. ParticleWave
    Nov 11, 2015
    4
    Average at best and overrated. Neither exceedingly funny or original. Tries to emulate "Louie", and is nowhere near as funny or smart, and If you already find Aziz Ansari annoying it's all the more difficult to enjoy.
  7. RobertHiggins
    Jul 2, 2017
    6
    S1 was outstanding in every way, but S2 was so horribly, painfully acted that it was a huge letdown. Aziz Ansari is a very funny guy and talented guy but any scene that Eric Wareheim or Alessandra Mastroardi are in borders on unwatchable.
  8. Makele
    Nov 9, 2015
    6
    Its not as good as the reviews would like you to believe. Its well made (budget enough obviously) but to me its feels a bit artificial (Constructed as you will) at times. Thematically its like Louis CK but I dont buy the story like with Louis one does. All together its not bad but certainly not worth the overall Metacritic rating.
  9. Pinealton
    Nov 9, 2015
    5
    The acclaim this show is currently getting is insane. Let me start off by saying I really wanted to like this show. While it nobly attempts to blend the zeitgeist subjects of shows like Girls or movies like Francis Ha (even down to the NYC setting and soundtrack pulled from Pitchfork's top 100 and a few random French tunes) with the highbrow vignette format of Louie, it ultimately fails inThe acclaim this show is currently getting is insane. Let me start off by saying I really wanted to like this show. While it nobly attempts to blend the zeitgeist subjects of shows like Girls or movies like Francis Ha (even down to the NYC setting and soundtrack pulled from Pitchfork's top 100 and a few random French tunes) with the highbrow vignette format of Louie, it ultimately fails in its execution, coming across as contrived and pretentious. The casting is terrible. Very few of the actors introduced as the main character's friends have any chemistry with him, and the result is awkward dialogue that struggles to balance meaningful insights with compulsory humor. Master of None has lofty aspirations, but seldom executes on any of them.… Expand
  10. FogCityRoller
    Nov 16, 2015
    6
    This show seems like it tries really hard to avoid being lumped into the sitcom genre, but it is definitely a sitcom. Granted, it's a pretty funny one most of the time. I'm not a raging Ansari fanboy but I don't dislike him either. He's more a comedian than an actor, and his roles tend to reflect, at least in part, his own personality. The heavy focus on pressing social issues willThis show seems like it tries really hard to avoid being lumped into the sitcom genre, but it is definitely a sitcom. Granted, it's a pretty funny one most of the time. I'm not a raging Ansari fanboy but I don't dislike him either. He's more a comedian than an actor, and his roles tend to reflect, at least in part, his own personality. The heavy focus on pressing social issues will certainly put this in the mix for awards. It's the type of garbage that makes cis white hetereo critics urinate all over themselves with ecstasy as they convince themselves "yes! I get these minorities now!"

    The show touches on some pretty real issues that connect with its target audience, adults in their 20s and 30s, spectacularly--social media, adult friendships, dating behavior and mannerisms, flakiness, 21st century parenthood or the lack thereof, cultural stereotyping, marginalization, Asian family structures, etc. He does a really good job at portraying these themes in ways that are accurate for many people.

    I do think it's a funny show, but it's far from perfect and isn't anywhere close to the social commentary it hopes to be at times. A clear case for delusions of grandeur.

    It's a victim of it's own ambitions. It suffers from very fatal flaw that I think plagues modern entertainment: IT TRIES WAY TOO HARD TO BE INCLUSIVE TO THE POINT WHERE IT ISN'T EVEN REALISTIC! This show is Friends: The Minority Version. Four adults in New York try to navigate their way through issues of marginalization while being proud Americans and responsible, educated adults. The show leans on this laughable concept that big cities are so terrifying that a group of 3-4 vastly different minorities can only hang out with each other in a bar and white girls serve no purpose other than sex.

    Let's examine this aspiring 21st century social progress realness. We have a tall, rotund Jew constantly juxtaposed against a short thin Indian-American. The way scenes are shot says it all--they WANT you to laugh at the size difference, because we're back to 1940s standards of humor apparently. Ugh. The other two friends are an overtly masculine African-American lesbian and a handsome Taiwanese-American who we have to be constantly reminded is very popular with the ladies.

    Come on Ansari, you serious with this?

    Coming from someone who is queer, I find it convenient that the token queer in the show is a masculine black lesbian. She has to be right? She has to be a minority, she has to be too masculine to be attractive to her heterosexual male friends, and she couldn't be a he because a gay man would have too much sexual tension being surrounded by straight guys. Since when do any lesbians hang out exclusively with heterosexual men, let alone a black lesbian hanging out with heterosexual men that don't even share a cultural experience with her?

    My main problem with this show's obvious intentions is that it takes the issue of marginalization and completely trivializes the communities that help form the identities of marginalized peoples in the first place. Not community with just any random minority, but those like them. This show is guilty of erasure and it doesn't even know it.

    In big cities especially, queers tend to surround themselves with other queers, it's a form of protection. To go one step further, queer POC tend to have their closest social connections with other queer POC. I just can't get over the fact that Ansari thought it would be believable that a butch black lesbian has nothing better to do than hang around and drink with three straight guys and talk about "puss". Yuck, so tasteless and exploitative. It's quite clear Ansari has a long way to go before he really understands queer communities.

    They also went so far as to marginalize the only white person who appears regularly by making him overweight and Jewish. Yeah okay, it's New York, I get it, Jews. But come on Ansari, you're trying WAY too hard here. I get that you want to tackle the issues of marginalized groups being exploited for the entertainment of cis hetero white people, but you're actually in turn exploiting them (and yourself) by making yourselves caricatures for the "token-minority-that-isn't-a-walking-stereotype". We get it, you don't talk with a heavy Punjab accent or own a convenience store. We get it, Jewish people have playful sides to them. We get it, black lesbians don't all hate men. We get it, East Asian men can be sexually appealing. You can get these points across without trying so hard!

    There are delicate intricacies to the composition of a social group of marginalized peoples that prevent it from looking forced and ridiculous. This is certainly ridiculous.    … Expand
  11. truerock
    Jul 15, 2017
    5
    Humor is difficult to critique. I’ve rated “Louis” 8, “The Sarah Silverman Program” 7, “Seinfeld” 8, Frasier 8, “Girls” 8, “Cheers” 7, “Friends” 7. So, when I rate “Master of None” a 5.5, notice I’ve never rated a comedy TV show 9 or 10. So, perhaps I should rate it a 7.5 to line-up with how most people rate humor. Regardless, I will not be watching “Master of None” in the future.Humor is difficult to critique. I’ve rated “Louis” 8, “The Sarah Silverman Program” 7, “Seinfeld” 8, Frasier 8, “Girls” 8, “Cheers” 7, “Friends” 7. So, when I rate “Master of None” a 5.5, notice I’ve never rated a comedy TV show 9 or 10. So, perhaps I should rate it a 7.5 to line-up with how most people rate humor. Regardless, I will not be watching “Master of None” in the future. “Master of None” is not a bad show – but,there are too many better things to do with my time.… Expand
  12. Panserbjorne39
    Aug 10, 2016
    4
    Show is terrible though Aziz is semi likeable in general. Probably one of the most overrated shows of the last couple of years. It fails as a comedy on all levels. Just not funny at all. The first episode had one laugh out loud moment for me. The rest of the entire season maybe a couple chuckles but otherwise just waiting for something funny to happen that never came. The writing wasShow is terrible though Aziz is semi likeable in general. Probably one of the most overrated shows of the last couple of years. It fails as a comedy on all levels. Just not funny at all. The first episode had one laugh out loud moment for me. The rest of the entire season maybe a couple chuckles but otherwise just waiting for something funny to happen that never came. The writing was awkward and the cast were not particularly charming or great at acting.… Expand
  13. jspeed
    Oct 12, 2016
    5
    This show has very good videography but other than that I am not sure its anywhere near the lofty reviews I've seen here on Metacritic. Its okay, not great or bad. One thing is its misidentified as a comedy. I was expecting to laugh some but it took til episode 2 before I even found myself laughing. Also, the acting is very lacking---even with Anziz's performance at times.
  14. bgmoy
    May 22, 2017
    4
    A show about food with no humor at all. Sorry for the spoilers, do i have to check the box? Now i have to write more words for this comment to submit.

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best TV Season of 2015
12
#12 Most Discussed TV Season of 2015
13
#13 Most Shared TV Season of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. The Lincoln Journal Star
    Reviewed by: Jeff Korbelik
    Nov 23, 2015
    91
    There are times when the dialogue is rough and doesn’t flow quite right, but not enough to overshadow the humor. Ansari has a gem of a show here.
    Read full review
  2. Time
    Reviewed by: Daniel D'Addario
    Nov 19, 2015
    90
    Master of None, one of the most assured shows in recent memory, knows exactly what it’s doing.
    Read full review
  3. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Emily Nussbaum
    Nov 16, 2015
    80
    Wide-ranging and genuinely funny.
    Read full review
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