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- CBS
- Apr 1, 2021
- CBS
- Apr 1, 2021
Summary Marine veteran Riley (Parker Young) befriends Awalmir aka Al (Adhir Kalyan), an interpreter who served with him in Afghanistan and who has just moved to start a new life in America in this Chuck Lorre comedy created by David Goetsch and Maria Ferrari.
Created By: Maria Ferrari, David Goetsch
- CBS
- Apr 1, 2021
- CBS
- Apr 1, 2021
United States of Al
Season 1
Season Premiere: Apr 1, 2021
52
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Where to Watch
Summary Marine veteran Riley (Parker Young) befriends Awalmir aka Al (Adhir Kalyan), an interpreter who served with him in Afghanistan and who has just moved to start a new life in America in this Chuck Lorre comedy created by David Goetsch and Maria Ferrari.
Created By: Maria Ferrari, David Goetsch
Where to Watch
Season Episodes
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Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
52
18% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
73% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
9% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
52
18% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
73% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
9% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
With a talented cast and writing staff and a truly original premise, it might really turn into something exceptional—if the American Taliban doesn't put it to death first.
The cross-cultural confusions like in Chuck Lore's most recent hit Bob {Hearts) Abishola, are mostly endearing, even when some of the jokes land too hard. [29 Mar - 11 Apr 2021, p.9]
Treads so softly upon the issues it half-raises that it may as well be “Punky Brewster” (see below). ... Scenes feel more put on than lived through. On the other hand, when it spends quality time with Riley’s sister Lizzie (the excellent Elizabeth Alderfer), quietly off the rails since the death of her helicopter pilot fiancé — death again! — it finds weight and realism the rest of the show doesn’t quite achieve.
"Al" has the feel of an idea that sounded better during the pitch than in the execution, with the laughs ending up lost in translation.
United States Of Al keeps its titular figure in a mold. It does take a couple more steps forward than TBBT in this case, by showing slightly more empathy to Al’s freakout over the shorts than just dreary innuendos. ... But for touting itself for its representation, the show offers this tenderness mostly to its white characters, though even jokes that don’t involve Al simply fall flat.
Nothing about these first four episodes, though, suggests a willingness to move past the predictable pork/alcohol/sex jokes and into grappling with how a Middle Eastern and Muslim immigrant who spent years surrounded by war would adjust to American life. ... All this show can generate for Al is to call him an “optimistic little dude,” and that patronizing pat on the head is pretty much the whole vibe of the arduous “United States of Al.”
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