Going Dutch

It has potential. The funnier characters start to open up as the season progresses, and the show will blossom if it's given a chance. Supporting cast has the comedy chops. It needs to find its rhythm but its a fun storyline of the contradictory national identities and how it impacts individuals at a small scale. The characters Jan and Papadakis especially shine. I think season 2 should start at a higher baseline of emotional intelligence, the adult children thing is too predictable. There are odd moments of magical realism, heartfelt portrayals of efforts at connection, non-insulting reflective humor about America, Green light Season 2, then decide!

As a Dutch person, I was curious to see where the show was gonna go, It was somewhat ok for a pilot, some jokes were good but most fell flat. I like Dennis Leary but the others were kinda meh. What bothered me the most though is if you wanna make a show about Going Dutch, actually do that then. Besides the many (unfunny) typical stereo types, there wasnt much Dutch, I think its filmed somewhere in Eastern Europe with Eastern European people with wrong accents. Atleast try to get it right if you wanna make a show like this, otherwise just call it Going Eastern Europe or whatever country they made this in.

As others have mentioned, plot lines aren't always great. But it gives me early days Parks & Rec vibes (you know how you have to tell friends who haven't seen P&R to just stick through the first season or so?). They're working on it and I see it getting better with every episode. If it gets renewed, I think one day it'll become a cult classic like the aforementioned Parks, or even Community. Which reminds me, Danny Pudi is no stranger to this type of comedy. I recommend sticking with it, it has a lot to offer, and the dry wit is on point. The acting is, as others have said, great even when the plot isn't there which helps immensely. Are there a few dumb plots or issues with the show? Yes. But I think they're shaping it up and, if they get a second season, they could really do something great with it. So, while I'm not surprised at the poor reviews, I think it'll grow on folks like other cult comedies have.

Denis Leary is hilarious. Danny Pudi is hilarious. The missing part of both those sentences is "...but not in this."

On the surface, this should work. It's basically F Troop, and they hired two veteran comic actors who have lengthy histories that tell you they know comedic timing.

None of the side characters are memorable. None are funny. None are interesting. The jokes never land, and there honestly aren't even all that many jokes. The best comedies are incredibly efficient at setting multiple jokes at a time and then ripping off punchline after punchline.

Whomever the writers for this thing are, they're terrible. I strongly encourage someone to revisit the concept. A modern day F Troop would be great. Or a Sgt Bilko. A military unit that is dreadful and terrible, where each character has some over the top trait? This formula can work.

But you need to hire comedy writers who can write jokes. And they didn't.

It is clearly a fictionalized version of an Army base in the Netherlands so don't expect too much or any realism. It reminds me a little like Hogan's Heroes; I just didn't think too hard about how implausible almost everything was and just enjoyed the banter and shenanigans. The cast has good chemistry and the show has enough heart to make me want to watch more. I haven't liked the complete cast of a show this much since Community. Similar to Community this show is more focused on the characters interacting then the basic premise which I consider a good choice considering the weakness of the premise and apparent lack of care in doing research.