TV Review: Intelligences Is Superbly Silly But…. Is It Smart?
Watching Intelligence, premiering July 15 on Peacock, I felt like I was watching 30 Rock’s little brother, in which Lemon is still frumpy but now portrayed by Nick Mohammed’s Joseph and Jack, in essence, David Schwimmer as Jerry, has become a “super spy” that is as helpful with national intelligence as the Trump Administration. Naturally, I was excited for Intelligence. The minute you see any cast member from Friends do anything, you feel after-shocks from your late-night, Netflix binges. The difference is that Friends felt like it had overarching stories, while Intelligence is a silly, office comedy, with the recipe for ridiculousness, but not, necessarily, the ability to fully cook it.
From 30 Rock to The Office or The Good Place to, of course, Friends, there is a feeling of an overarching “arch” in these NBC classics. Even though the episodes were 30 minute journeys into the bad decisions and humdrum chaos of its characters, you thought there was “somewhere” to go because you were following its characters and wanted to see their journeys. Admittedly, I liked Intelligence’s characters, but couldn’t help feeling like there was “something” missing. They had the spark but no fire. Thus, I wanted MORE, which was a feeling I got from another major comedy, Space Force, that relied on the fanbase of its lead, Steve Carrell, to attract viewers. Yet, when you have an epic lead in a superbly random, outlandish situation like, a brash “HR agent of sorts” that is trying to create a “hip,” government environment, you expect constant snark clashing with complete idiocy. There are so many absurd places to go but Intelligence is surprisingly austere.
Intelligence | Official Trailer | Sky One
It is clear that “Jerry” is the loud American trying to “save” foreigners who don’t need saving in their own land. Schwimmer busts into the UK with pure bravado, but, oddly, feels contained. If I am to, again, compare Intelligence to the previously mentioned, NBC comedies, like The Office and 30 Rock, their characters were borderline caricatures; too crazy to feel real but went through enough struggles to feel human. Yet, from the cool and collected Tuva (Gana Bayarsaikhan) to the meek but hits hard Mary (Jane Stanness) everyone in Intelligence feels like regular, office workers. We are not entering a “world” as much as an actual 9 to 5 led by the fierce Christine (Sylvestra Le Touzel) and disrupted by Jerry. Thus, Intelligence does not always land its jokes beyond the feeling of watching common coworkers disagree and dislike each other.
I wanted to see Intelligence for David Schwimmer, and I stayed to watch him as an ego-maniacal, NSA worker that is trying to “re-vamp” Britain’s cyber crimes unit with cupcakes and a suggested, Alexa playlist. Frankly, he is amazing, but the atmosphere, along with the jokes, don’t feel ornate or heightened enough to make laughter a constant. Still, it did have its moments and the ultimate feeling that its premise is the base for much bigger jokes and commentary on how “intelligent” are people running “intelligence.” Maybe, next season it will hit the mark it targeted to land. Intelligence premieres July 15 on the Peacock App.
