My Review of "Baskets: Season 1"

Baskets: Season 1 is a little known show that started up in 2016. It only recently appeared in my radar after the untimely death of Louis Anderson who plays the matriarch in this show. I really wished I had stumbled upon it a lot sooner but it's better late than never.

This show starts off hysterically. We get introduced to the main protagonist named Chip Baskets. He's kind of a free spirit trying to navigate himself in this crazy world of ours. A year prior he had flown to Paris France to attend a clown school. I know it's already sounds ridiculous. Even funnier is the fact he doesn't speak a lick of French. His character is definitely a narcissistic sociopath.

I know it's hard to get into a show when the main character is such a horrible person but if you stick with the show you start to understand him. They slowly reveal why he is the way he is and you may somehow start to like the guy. It's a crazy feat to attempt but they kind of did it by the end of the season.

Chip has to come back to Bakersfield California because he's run out of money and flunked out of school. However, before he leaves for America he marries a French woman. Sadly the woman doesn't really love him, she's only after an American green card. In her defense she even tells him up front what her intentions are. Of course Chip with his narcissistic sociopathic tendencies believes he can somehow make her love him.

Back in Bakersfield Chip meets up with an ever so friendly insurance worker named Martha. She's basically his partner in crime throughout the rest of the show. We meet a whole slew of other characters as well.

A big part of his life is his mother and his twin brother Dale. I thought it was hilarious how he and his twin brother were named Chip and Dale. Their mother is so loving that she adopted another set of twins years ago when they were young.

The whole movie initially starts off with Chips dreams of becoming a clown. He is adamant to become a famous clown but this slowly changes throughout the season. Pretty soon it becomes a family affair to figure out how they navigate life together. Each new episode will reveal an onion layer of secrets within the family that turn up to be big reveals.

In a way I can see a lot of people relating to this show because of the very familiar family issues that Chip has. All of the characteristics of each of his family members are quite authentic and you can see how this could happen in real life.

The comedy however might not be for everyone. I normally don't get into dark comedies but this was done pretty nicely. The ridiculousness of the situations they get in have such genuineness that I can see in my own life. It's also quite clever. I love how Chip is accidentally becoming a big clown. He does a lot of falls and spills that you would expect to see in silent movies but all of the falls and accidents aren't "intentionally" done. It looks like everything that Chip is doing is just because of his clumsy self but as part of the audience watching the show you can see how deliberate everything is.

Overall, I enjoyed this first season. It's a very quick show to watch since it's 30 minute episodes with only 10 episodes to go through. The show really ramps up in the last half as the first half is merely introducing you to the characters. I have to give this season a 7.5 out of 10. I can see a lot of potential for this show and I can't wait to check out the next season.