Flaked2016

Flaked is to be commended for really capturing its setting, shooting very clearly on location and focusing on the issues facing this community right now.

I wanted to love this show. I'm a huge fan of Will Arnett's, and liked the Venice Beach setting. But unfortunately the balance between humour and drama is totally off. It's simply not funny enough, and the drama feels contrived and unrealistic. The secondary characters are underwritten and profoundly annoying, and the central plot is unbelievable and soap-opera-like. Arnett's charm forced me to watch the whole series, but it was losing me episode by episode. Maybe a bit more time spent on the writing could have turned this into something half-decent, but I can't recommend this to anyone.

Quality-wise, Flaked slots right in the middle of the pack. It is not as original, lacerating, or self-aware as Louie and Girls, the progenitors of this trend, or as good as Transparent, the perfector of it, but it contains a deep and precise character sketch.... Flaked is irritating exactly to the extent that it takes Chip’s plight too seriously.