Sweetbitter

I decided to give this a shot after seeing constant ads, also being a New Yorker with some experience in fine dining I was interested enough. Unfortunately there were so many glaring issues with this adaptation. The most frustrating part is there are glimmers of what could've been a great show throughout, opportunities squandered at every turn. One of the main issues is our star, Tess. It's hard to distinguish if it's mainly the fault of the writer, director or actor, but all three do their fair share to poison the pot. I get they are going for doe-eyed naivety but come on, give the audience a little credit, or the character some dimension. Everything, I mean everything she looks at she's gawking as if she has just discovered there are other humans on this planet- get's old real quick. Not to mention it's just not believable. NO ONE with her behavior (won't even discuss lack of experience) would last a day in that industry. However, I'm more than willing to suspend belief for plot but this show doesn't deliver the goods. The show does not give you any reason to root for her success except that she is the obvious protagonist and well, I guess you just should. She isn't particularly hard working or respectful, she walks around in a self absorbed bubble the entire season. For a coming of age there is little, if any personal growth exhibited on her end. All of the secondary characters are painfully one note. The season would have been more interesting had they paid more attention to some of them or even made it an ensemble show, as following wide eyed Tess around all day gets tiring. Then there's oh-so-troubled-Jake and I'm-so-illusive Simone. They both seem to have these massive fronts to feign the audience into intrigue, but I'm guessing not much is behind either door. There was no resolution into the season long tension within the 3 or insight into their motivations. The writers either didn't have answers or are holding out hope for a second season, either way not much happens in the first season besides the answer to if Tess will become a permanent hire. Luckily it's a short watch and they didn't milk this plot for a longer run time. I may even give it a chance if it gets renewed, hoping they juice up the writing, flesh out the ensemble and someone slaps that look off of Tess's face.

A familiar story of a young girl heading to the big city to find herself and grow a personality. Ella Purnell is the sweet girl who has not yet revealed the bitter but shows hints of a steel core. She is taken on to train at Howard's (Paul Sparks - last seen in Waco) posh restaurant and her future family (one guesses) is there in the kitchen and front of house. Speaking as a former restaurant manager, she is given a surprising amount of freedom as a probationer (scoffing oysters in the cold store while quaffing champagne?) but I guess that can be called poetic licence. All told I will be giving it a chance to grow on me.

I managed to watch the entire first season in one day. It was good. Not great. Not terrible. IMO, if you want a fair review of this series, ignore all the one and ten star ratings. They simply are not realistic. It moves a little slow at times but the characters all become likeable in their own way. Never having worked in the food service industry, I can't say how accurately life is portrayed. Most of the characters seem depressed and without hope (and high :) all the time however, so that seems a bit over-played. The one aspect I found exceptionally annoying is how Tess is constantly portrayed as the "wide-eyed country bumpkin" stepping foot into the big city for the very first time. It was sort of cute in the first episode. It gets pretty old by the 6th episode. Started Season 2. Seems on-track so far.

This is a great show that simmers slowly and takes its time building the plot and characters over two gorgeously filmed seasons situated primarily in a restaurant modeled after Union Square Cafe in NYC in the early 2000s. It reminds me a bit of the series Felicity with Keri Russell from the late 90s: a shy, beautiful young woman moves to the big city looking to explore all the possibilities life may offer while she slowly discovers who she is and who she really wants to be. It's moody and thoughtful and gives us an accurate look into the life of young servers, bar and kitchen staff working in a high-end, high pressure restaurant. The episodes are only 30 minutes long, so things never get too deep and I think I appreciate this aspect. I can immerse myself a little, get the feeling and the vibe of the time and place and romance of it all; good escapism with a talented cast that serves up courses of relationship drama, intimacy and sex while bringing in well researched and even informational aspects of food and wine. If you enjoy coming of age stories and love food, you'll enjoy all the sweet and bitter this show has to offer.

Have made it through 3 episodes which I think is a reasonable shot but that's as far as it goes. Careers from one cliche to another. Perhaps in other hands a show set behind the scenes in an upmarket New York restaurant could yield something a little more than on offer here, but then again perhaps not. It looks great but moody lighting and sultry acting isn't enough. A sit com might have worked better with this material or at least a plot with somewhere to go.