The Big Door Prize

There are no weak spots in the ensemble accumulated by casting director Gayle Keller. If the promise of a second season was just spending time with these characters in flux, I would at least be curious. But The Big Door Prize is already a delicate show, and the direction it feels like it’s going is one that jeopardizes its fragility rather than buttressing it.

There is so much more this show tries to grasp in its minimal running time, and as a whole The Big Door Prize delivers some admirable drama. ... But irrespective of those whys and wherefores – The Big Door Prize ultimately falls short of greatness.

For all the possibly interesting ways the characters grapple with what it is that they are even doing anymore, the surrounding show proves to be even more aimless. There is still room for The Big Door Prize to find a way forward, though this inauspicious introduction falls short of its full promise.