Delocated

You have to understand how extreme this show actually is. Their aesthetic is a wonderful reflection of reality television and the real world. Think of it like this. The deadpan humor is gonna be a lot funnier when you realize that sometimes, peoples grip on reality can be fractured. Jon is borderline insane, but comes off as a quirky character, due to the nature of the programming. But in reality, there are too many people who can't appreciate that attitude we see on reality TV in average real life situations, in which Jon is constantly finding himself in. Visiting his girlfriends house and meeting her family while still being "on" for the cameras, the embarrassment the people around him feel, and how it goes over time. In this situation, Jon's reality show really has no hope. It follows the wreckage something like witness relocation can wreak on a family, while be reminded of the surreal quality of television truly invading and exploiting the private lives of people. It's absolutely insane just how understated the insanity is. Because it's completely serious, that's the point. You just gotta be aware of the elements of the show, and how they carry each other to become an enriched fan of the show. But, at the same time, you can just lay back and let it carry you along without a thought and with it's dead pan delivery, contrasting characters, you'll find plenty of reasons to be entertained.

This show is coming from the people to blame for Wondershowzen and Xavier: Renegade Angel. If you haven't seen those, maybe you want to check them out before trying to watch this.

The show is about somebody in witness protection on TV, which is obviously ridiculous. Being the only person walking around NYC in a ski mask with a voice-modulator at all times is pretty obvious. The show is goofy and absurd, obviously. I think he's voice sounds funny as hell the way it is, same thing with Xavier's voice, and sometimes that alone is enough to make me laugh.

If you aren't into this kind of stuff, then you're not, and you should stick to some laugh-tracked sitcom on ABC or something. Not as good as Wondershowzen or Xavier, but still a show worth watching.

High concept shows tend to appeal to a very narrow audience, but this one is so bizarre, it goes way beyond its very specialized formula.

What if a guy testified on behalf of the Federal Government against the Russian Mob? His family and he would get new identities, leave their friends, schools and jobs behind and go into the Witness Protection Program. That's the background story of this group.

But then, some documentary filmmakers decided to take these people out of the nameless and bland suburb they lived in and place them in a New York City loft, to have their lives taped and to watch what happens! Welcome to "Delocated," also referred to as "Delocated New York" (as if they might do other versions of this series in other cities).

"Jon" (played by Jon Glaser) is the man in question. His family: wife "Susan" (Nadia Dajani) and son "David" (Jacob Kogan) are extremely reluctant to leave the safety of their quiet life for the possibility of getting killed on the streets of New York by the Russians (these aren't their "real" names, hence the quotation marks).

In order for the filmmakers to shoot this documentary, for their safety, the family must wear ski masks any time they're on camera, which is basically all the time. And they had microchips implanted on their vocal cords to permanently alter the sound of their voices. But the trouble begins as soon as they arrive in NYC, when they find out that their "loft" was just a studio apartment! "Jon" is angered because he put his family in mortal danger so he could live in a cool loft and got this instead. And "Susan" immediately walks out with "David." Let the mayhem begin!

As noted, this is a high concept comedy, as the idea that someone in the witness protection program would suddenly be a TV star in, of all places, New York, is absolutely absurd. Of course, when his wife left, "Jon" gets suggested by his Fed Agent caretaker to start dating, just to add another layer of insanity to the proceedings!

Every episode has some unexpected twist, just like that, which takes the episode in a new and more cockeyed direction, and typically includes "Jon" having battles with the filmmakers or the network producing the show about some element that didn't go according to plan.

Glaser's constant deadpan reactions to how everything happens and the disasters that occur as a part of that day's filming only adds more laughs to the hilarity. I should also note that episodes run between 11 minutes and 22 minutes, so you can easily binge this in a day.

New York plays a part because where else would people find it perfectly normal for a guy in a ski mask to just be wandering around town, working at a copy shop or going on a date at a public park when it's warm enough to wear shirt sleeves. Oh, and being followed by a camera crew! It's great because there's a lot of location shooting all over town, so the show really feels like you're hanging out all over the city with "Jon" and the situations that he finds himself in are as freaky and as ridiculous as the show's original premise.

This series is a brilliant satire of the entire Reality genre and skewers a lot of the tropes that are commonly associated with shows of that type. It also features some surprising cameos and gets in some smacks on other shows.

But I'll be the first to tell you, this is definitely not for everyone.

In an alternate universe, this would be a 7 season NBC classic. in THIS universe, it should be talked about right up there with classics like The Office, Arrested Development, and any other beloved network comedy. however i do understand how a show with a faceless protagonist might throw off the boomer crowd, thus its lumped in with more artistic and surrealist programming on adult swim which led to mixed reception.

regadless of its reception, this show is consistently a hoot and a half. Jon Glaser's semi-anonymous "Jon" is possibly one of the most hysterical protagonists second only to the ever-obnoxious Michael Scott. he is rude, inappropriate, egotistical, delusional, and tries the patience of anyone willing to spend more than two seconds with him. if thats not the makings of a hysterical protagonist, i don't know what is.

the subplot of the Russian mafia eternally tracking him down, while significantly less developed, still manages to keep the show interesting with Eugene of Bob's Burgers fame bringing non-stop laughs in Season One with his assassin-turned-comedian but his brother, the cold-blooded killer really begins to shake up the narrative from Season Two until its closing. he manages to be both genuinely terrifying and absurdly hilarious which makes him a compelling foil to Jon.

the biggest hook of this show though, is always Jon. those familiar with Parks and Recreation's Jeremy Jam will find Jon as the proto-Jam. as funny as many of the situations and other characters are, its often Jon delivering absurd one-liners and catchphrases that will leave you in stitches. i particularly love the Dog Mayor episode where Jon becomes psychedelically entranced by sub sandwiches and waxes spiritual poetry about its ingredients.

its a shame that this only ran for 3 seasons and a finale, though what we have is endlessly watchable and quotable. every episode is available for free on the adult swim app, so theres really no excuse to miss this underappreciated masterpiece of comedy tv. its surely worthy of a full ten star rating.

I watched season 1 of Delocated, all the way through without stopping. And I literally didn't stop laughing the entire time. When your about to stop laughing form the last thing that happened, something else makes you start laughing again. I'm talking about the kind of laughing that makes you cry or pee your pants. I almost couldn't handle how much i was laughing, and after i got done with season 1 i felt like i had laughed enough for a lifetime. Some of the jokes are really raunchy and some people might be offended by them. So this isn't the show for everyone, I definitely wouldn't show this to my grandma. But I think most modern-era people will enjoy this show.