I’m likely to guess that Peacock held off on its premiere of “Hapless” until eventually “Curb Your Enthusiasm” ended its storied run on HBO.
Which is because “Hapless,” premiering April 10 on Peacock, is incredibly identical in tone and context to “Curb,” with a several exceptions — and is even explained as a “cringe comedy” a la Larry David’s masterpiece.
Year 1 of “Hapless” streamed really briefly on Prime Movie in early 2020 (less than the title “The Jewish Enquirer”) and is receiving a shot now on Peacock (Seasons 1 and 2), hoping to fill the void remaining in the wake of “Curb’s” ultimate episode, which aired April 7.
The collection was made, written and directed by Gary Sinyor in contrast to Larry David on “Curb,” our “Hapless” collection protagonist/antagonist Paul Eco-friendly (Tim Downie, “Outlander”) isn’t a superstar enjoying an exaggerated version of himself — he’s a reporter for The Jewish Enquirer, explained as the “4th most important Jewish publication” in the Uk, who finds himself in awkward cases, most of them of his individual making. He relates to others without much of a filter, which commonly gets him into problems.
Paul, who’s single, life in North London in close proximity to his divorced sister, Naomi (Lucy Montgomery in Period 1, Jeany Spark in Year 2). She usually finds herself implicated in his adventures and is not afraid to lace into her brother (a la Susie Essman in “Curb”). Paul’s greatest buddy, Simon (Josh Howie), is a psychiatrist and his sounding board/voice of motive (consider Jeff Garlin in “Curb”).
I can only guess that creator Sinyor was heavily affected by the the operate of Larry David even the incidental audio in “Hapless” is reminiscent of these tuba-sounding whimsical notes that adopted Larry David about in “Curb” (and “Seinfeld” is referenced early on).
There are “Seinfeld”/”Curb”-type references, way too, including a “loud close” vs. a “soft close” bathroom lid Paul invents the term “perfume-possessive” in yet another episode in which Peter finds himself attracted to a married woman’s perfume — then rubs her coat on his shirt so his sister, Naomi, can determine the scent (there is significantly a lot more to that tale).
The collection can be ribald: in the opener, there’s a plotline revolving about a Jewish delicacy and how it’s ready that likens that to sexual gratification (that storyline is solved with a “Curb”-style ending involving an infected finger) in Episode 2, Paul is despatched to report on what it is like to put together for a marriage ceremony from a man’s point of view, and the phrase “moist” receives him into trouble when he refers to a wedding ceremony cake. He takes Naomi, disguised as his spouse, to an upscale marriage ceremony-dress shop in which, as expected, points get out of hand … swiftly.
Paul, like Larry David, is tone-deaf and argumentative when it arrives to social predicaments, into which he’s normally thrust by the whim of his editor at The Jewish Enquirer.
In the opener, he pivots from basic assignment reporter to film critic and is sent to interview a vain actress starring in a movie drama that emphasizes the economic divide in the British isles (and which contains quite a few toilet scenes) explained to by his editor to compliment the actress, Peter suggests to her that “it’s astounding what a bit of makeup will do” and asks her if there was an intimacy trainer when she made use of the rest room in the film — then inquiring what she was paid out for a movie about poverty. Like that.
The series is often all above the spot, thematically — with a number of distinct subplots for each episode — but Sinyor manages to hook up the dots by the end of just about every 50 %-hour installment.
If “Hapless” is not a immediate extension of Larry David’s “Seinfeld”/”Curb Your Enthusiasm” universe, it is, at least, an homage to those people worlds, told via a British lens that can be outrageous, unflinching and amusing — but by no means predictable.
