Television review Netflix’s comedy special tears humor from the gloomy year 2021, but the satire stays in the blink as many of its jokes have already been told

Culture|Television review

What left in hand since 2021? Grief and sorrow, strife and dissension. At least if there is a belief in Netflix’s current satire Death to 2021.

A year ago, the comedy special jokes rolled out a pandemic and Trump against Biden -competition. The same well is still being mined, though the presidential race has shifted to more common pecking between Democrats and Republicans. In a coronary pandemic, humor is torn apart, especially about vaccine criticality.

Ben Caudell has replaced as editor – in – chief Charlie Brooker. Both have a background in British comedy, so the humor has the same, American-tinged tone. The conservative United States in particular will play its part.

Despite this, the subjects have touched globally, so the viewer stays behind the wheel as well as here in Finland.

The events of the year are rewritten by a group of commentators, a collection of caricatures that are up to date: among other things: Hugh Grant as a self-centered British man, Lucy Liu as a journalist who has seen everything, Joe Keery someinfluensserina and Stockard Channing as a cultural critic suffocating his sarcasm.

There is also a technology guru, a Korona expert and for some reason two young and naive housewives. The last sparring of the characters would not have been a bad thing.

The whole the most obvious difficulty in bringing the events of the year together is to find fresh perspectives. It also stumbles Death to 2021. Many times on wooden subjects one should come up with sharp jokes that have not already been read. At the same time, gambling on the safe should be abandoned and one should dare to go beyond political correctness.

Under Caudell’s reins, the roaring satire is sadly left halfway. It is not a strange reaction that humor awakens.

In the most relevant the sketches shine with a comedian Tracey Ullman. The American TV presenter she portrays to extremist conservative audiences is exaggeratedly brazenly bloated. The character squeaks in conspiracy theories and sues vaccine opponents with more insane arguments. Despite its overcrowding, the character could very well be real, and that’s exactly how it works.

The most tired side is represented by the hooks on the side of popular culture. Be that as it may, one of the most memorable moments of the year has been selected by a series of violent upheavals. Squid Game and a documentary Seaspiracy, both of which are, of course, Netflix ‘s own productions.

Death to 2021, Netflix.