Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas

I believe in criminal justice reform so much that I literally moved to Washington DC to work for a criminal justice non-profit. And I love edutainment shows such as The Daily Show, Adam Ruins Everything, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. I've enjoyed Wyatt on The Daily Show and on podcasts.

Unfortunately, Wyatt Cenac's jaded and cynical approach just isn't engaging, and the cutaways and digressions seem to muddy the topic instead of adding to the fun. Of course, society's problems can certainly lead to cynicism and anger. He is right to feel that way! But it's just not enjoyable to get brought down, and putting full stops in the show to sigh and make snarky comments destroys its momentum.

The show tends to assume audience support rather than building support through argument, and the topics meander. More structure is needed, and as a super-liberal I would even question some of the points being made. Is Wyatt seriously suggesting that Hollywood movies should cut back on gun violence? Or that we should be recycling our chicken bones? If so, why should these topics take precedence?

Finally, I'm sorry to say that the show seems underfunded. The direct-to-camera approach walking in a small studio with no audience, and the strange decoration, are hard to get a grip on. The editing of the field pieces into a coherent narrative isn't as top notch as we expect for a scripted show. Creative risks take courage and should be appreciated, but in this case, it just didn't work for me.

It's a 5-star show, but I have given 6 stars because of its important topic.

Uncancel this show.



No? Okay then I'll continue. Wyatt's two season HBO docuseries is like the holy grail of formats for me - being a semi-sarcastic, searingly investigative and wholly constructive look at pragmatic solutions to societal problems. The first season is dedicated to policing (which turned out to be quite prescient and is hardly going to get less relevant as time goes by) and the second education. There's a notable attempt to be more overtly comedic in the second season as well, which is welcome but didn't help it much. The overall vibe is all wood-pannelling, gentle flute musical interludes and the perpetually laconic Cenac who seems to have an easy rapport with everyone he talks to.

I can see why the thing didn't necessarily take off - but it felt so specifically crafted for me that frankly I can't quite believe it exists in the first place. I learned a huge amount from this - it can be easy to see the US from the outside mainly negatively but in going and talking to the empathetic passionate people on the ground, educators, activists, craftspeople - and doing it in a warm and slightly silly way the show opened a whole other side of that country up for me. It's sad that the show has gone, but that the humans it highlighted persevere somewhere is a lovely thought.

Right up there with Full Frontal and Last Week Tonight. Suprised to see such a low rating here. Renewed for a second season already, so hopefully more people will see it.

So informative on literally all aspects of policing, providing potential solutions from a panel of experts and activists. He's also very clever and likable. So bummed to see how uncomfortable this made people.

Smart, funny, and informative like Last Week Tonight (Jon Oliver is a producer on this) but with its own style and tone. I'll definitely be back for more.