American Vandal

This series is exactly what it appears to be- a mockumentary of all the "True Crime" documentaries out there- while at the same time building its own story and characters that you grow to love and root for. There were moments when I forgot I was watching fiction and genuinely wanted to scream at idiotic authority figures and the overall injustice represented on screen. Those were only a few moments, though. For the most part I laughed at the exaggerated high school drama.

American Vandal was very well-written, well-acted, and well-constructed. It even begins to pick up a moral of its own, and you come away not only with an amazing new comedy, but with a deep truth about how preconceived notions and judgments of a person can have lasting impacts on a person's life, especially a young one.

The subject matter may be silly, but its wrapped in a well constructed documentary that holds your interest. The suspense and drama is alluring. If the trailer appeals to you, then it only gets better upon watching. The genre is "teen show/documentary", as described by Netflix, and it delivers to that demographic pretty well. I'm not into teen shows, but I can appreciate how it emulates popular crime docs of recent years. It not only recalls the crime, but takes you on a journey of investigation. A mastery of the genre.

Great show and perfect for Netflix. I binged the whole show in 2 days. It has a great cast, you get fresh faces and they are all at least good and they are put in a interesting story, which reveals constant new information and make you doubt your own judgement. And I like the view on young people in high schools (I am not from the US) and also the aspect of social media. It's the right amount of story telling, it doesn 't want you to tell too much and it is open for interpretation.

This was a real breath of fresh air.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very familiar with the "True Crime" shows that American Vandal is presenting itself as a parody of, but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of it at all. The show takes a satirical low-stakes premise and manages to make it genuinely suspenseful and funny, as well as very poignant towards the end of the season. The show blends this style with elements of found footage films, finding the best aspects of both and managing to never get stale.

For a show with a mostly junior cast that essentially lives and dies by the believability of its performances, American Vandal's actors were all surprisingly capable and felt like real people. Jimmy Tatro was great; if you've followed his YouTube channels, you won't see much you haven't already seen him do, but he's very talented and he was definitely perfect for the role. The other leads were great as well, and I can't think of too many weak links in even the supporting cast. It's rare to see TV shows paint an accurate picture of modern high school kids across different stereotypes (and make any attempt to deconstruct those stereotypes), but this felt about as close as I've seen one get.

Plus, the writing is engaging and keeps you guessing throughout, such that you won't be certain where the plot is going until the very end. Certain details will appear in the first few episodes that don't get elaborated upon until several episodes later, and it makes the show very rewarding upon re-watches for viewers paying attention. For a show that would have done just fine as a fun romp satirizing the true crime genre, American Vandal actually goes the extra mile to make itself more enjoyable.

If you were even moderately interested based on the trailer, absolutely give American Vandal a binge. Would love to see what this team can come up with next.

This show is ridiculous in the best way. I was cracking up and hooked on finding out the mystery in each season. I'm so sad it was cancelled, I was looking forward to more seasons.