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Critic Reviews
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Comedy vet Helms brings his confident energy to the role, and meets his match in co-star and relative newcomer Schmieding, who balances his rigor with a down-to-earth and equally captivating performance. ... There are a few chaotic moments (including an appearance by Paul F. Tompkins) that seem rushed, but the show finds its footing pretty quickly. Plus, it’s just a ton of fun. The series has a vibrant, heartwarming spirit.
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If Reagan and Nathan’s friendship is half of the reason to watch Rutherford Falls, let the sublime co-stars be the other half.
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Deft. ... As satire, “Rutherford Falls” is gentle rather than lacerating — even demons may be good people in Schur’s comic cosmology, may even be Ted Danson — and the story more personal than political. ... By not turning people into talking points, Ornelas, Schur and Helms leave their characters free to become who they are in complicated ways, rather than what they are in obvious ones — to stand for themselves.
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Rutherford Falls is a smart comedy that takes a view of indigenous people that most TV shows, even recent ones, have just not made the effort to take. It helps that Helms and Schmieding are appealing leads and have good chemistry as lifelong friends Nathan and Reagan.
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[Producer Sierra Ornelas'] fingerprints are clearly visible — highlighted, certainly, by the work of the five other Native American writers on the show — in the complexity written into all of these characters. ... "Rutherford Falls" may not be the funniest comedy on TV, but it uses its sweetness to draw us into necessary conversations about how we might better and more honestly Iive together.
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As has been the case on other Schur-produced shows, Rutherford Falls skillfully braids discussions of serious sociocultural issues with character-based comedy in ways that seem neither forced nor overly didactic.
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Smart and breezy and instantly likable.
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Apr 19, 2021An ambitious comedy series about the lingering tensions surrounding the story of America — as we tell it, and as it really was. ... It feels a little disappointing that the show is built around a somewhat clueless, borderline-annoying white dude. This isn't to say that Nathan is a bad guy.
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Genial charmer that quietly makes TV history.
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Where the sitcom shines — and, like early “Parks,” shows a promising upward trajectory — is in fleshing out the Minishonka community. ... The show’s biggest problem is structural, but it’s fixable. “Rutherford Falls” treats Nathan as a colead, but really Reagan is its center. She’s at the fulcrum of all the tensions, and Schmieding is an out-of-the-box charismatic star.
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Gentle but knowing satire about cultural appropriation. [26 Apr - 9 May 2021, p.7]
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“Rutherford Falls” has the building blocks to become a smart comedy hit. It just needs more time to build its characters’ relationships.
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Rutherford Falls feels like it’s still figuring itself out in these early episodes provided to critics. But until it gets there, Reagan’s best friend may try your patience as much as he does hers.
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It’s unclear just where “Rutherford Falls” is going to go, whether it will play things safe with a “both sides now” mentality or not. For now, enjoy it as a showcase for why Schmieding and Greyeyes should be bigger stars.
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The equally promising and frustrating result, which debuts on Peacock April 22, bears evidence of some significant growing pains, combining ambitious, intriguing ideas and slow, overly delicate storytelling. ... The show is at its best when it stops apologizing for Nathan’s ignorance and starts spending more time with other characters.
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In the first four episodes screened for critics, the show bobs and weaves between wacky shenanigans and grounded sincerity, never quite finding a way to settle on a happy medium as the increasingly complicated plot takes over.
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Rutherford Falls’ biggest pitfall is its saggy pacing — the pilot, which runs a (rather unfunny) half-hour, feels twice as long. There’s also both too much and not enough table-setting in these early installments. ... The bond between Nathan and Reagan is supposed to be the show’s heart, but the tenuous alliance between Reagan and Terry is easily its most engaging.
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In its first four episodes, "Rutherford Falls" can be underwhelming with the comedy that usually takes a saga like this over the top. The series doesn’t have much of its own comedic signature, even though it has plenty of compelling ideas.
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There’s a caustically funny show buried somewhere beneath “Rutherford Falls.” ... But by playing both sides of a very hot topic, “Rutherford Falls” fails to hum, roar or even sputter to any satisfying degree. You can feel the brakes being applied, and the consequent lurch. The one truly sympathetic character in the show is Nathan’s best friend and pariah-of-the-reservation Reagan Wells (Jana Schmieding).
User score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 8
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Mixed: 2 out of 8
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Negative: 2 out of 8
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Sep 22, 2022A rather mundane and dull affair that has a few funny moments, but for the whole most of the gags seemed rather forced and predictable.
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Jun 29, 2021Really enjoyed it. Funny characters well played without the meanness order awkwardness of some "comedies".
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May 17, 2021