Aziz Ansari Proves His Title Wrong In Master Of None

Aziz Ansari Proves His Title Wrong In Master Of None
Courtesy Photo Master of None, starring and written by Aziz Ansari, follows his character Dev’s encounters with modern life’s problems. The show’s 10 episodes are available exclusively on Netflix.

Courtesy Photo
Master of None, starring and written by Aziz Ansari, follows his character Dev’s encounters with modern life’s problems. The show’s 10 episodes are available exclusively on Netflix.

Aziz Ansari, best known for his role as Tom Haverford on Parks & Recreation, had his 10-episode series Master Of None premiere on Netflix last Friday, and he hit it out of the park. Playing a second-generation Indian-American named Dev, Ansari has assembled the most diverse show on television in the process, and it’s all the better for it. On top of that, the show itself is just good. Its closest counterpart is probably Louie, but Ansari hits very different beats in his show.

Dev is a 20-something commercial actor living in New York. We meet him first right as his condom breaks with Rachel (played by Noel Wells), and they discuss whether or not this is a big deal. In the end, they decide to go to the pharmacy and buy Plan B (“My treat!”). All of this is to put Dev in the position of having to think long and hard about what life would be like with kids. His friends are having a birthday party, so he uses this as a way to try out what Fatherhood might be like. He hears how wonderful everything is from his friend whose son just turned one. He offers to babysit another friend’s kids. It’s that moment that teaches Dev precisely what parenthood is: A nightmare.

One of the most unique things about this show was Aziz’s choice to cast his own parents, Shoukath and Fatima Ansari, as Dev’s parents. He told Jimmy Kimmel that after reading some 20 Indian actors to play his parents, nothing felt right, so he just asked them if they would do it. Shoukath, his father, absolutely steals every scene he’s in. He may be the cutest old man on television now.

His relationship with his father is one of the show’s most brilliant aspects. In an early episode, Aziz and his Taiwanese-American friend Brian are shown rejecting their father’s requests for help with their cellphones. In a quick flashback, each father flashes back to their own childhoods, and quickly goes through each of their journeys. It was an amazing portrayal of what I imagine is the story for many immigrant families. Hardships in childhood, hardships in adulthood, working harder than ever to get to America, having a son, and your son having the kind of pampered, spoiled life that he can reject spending time with you so he doesn’t miss the trailers before the latest X-Men movie.

Things like that permeate this short show. At a meager ten episodes, Master Of None may be Netflix’s shortest series yet. It doesn’t really matter though, as the content of the episodes makes them feel like they last longer than they do. The lack of commercials and ability to run for a full 30 minutes helps, too. The camera work, the chemistry between the cast, the writing; the show fires on all cylinders, from the beginning. The subjects he takes on episode-to-episode probably stand out the most, as he provides, through comedy, scathing indictments on our treatments of the elderly, our relationships, how we deal with our parents, the differences in men and women, and so much more.

If its first season was this good, we can expect great things in the future from Aziz Ansari and Master Of None. All 10 episodes of Season 1 are now streaming on Netflix.

Categories: Commentary