Spoiler Free Advance Review, Superior Donuts Series Premiere – “Pilot” A Pilot Full of Holes.

Season 1, Episode 1

Air Date: Thursday, February 2, 2017, 8:30/7:30c on CBS

Rating: ★★★★★

“The name of this place is Superior Donuts; I sell donuts.” – Arthur

Arthur Przbyszewski’s (Judd Hirsch) shop, Superior Donuts, has been a longtime staple in its Chicago neighborhood. As the community has grown and evolved, Arthur, in all his gruffness, continues to resist change. That is, until Franco (Jermaine Fowler) shows up at the store looking for a job. Content with things as they are, Arthur is hesitant to institute all of Franco’s ideas to improve the shop. Will the two eventually see eye to eye or will Franco be tossed out like yesterday’s donuts?

Superior Donuts is based on Tracy Letts’ play of the same name which premiered in Chicago in 2008, and on Broadway in 2009. The series was originally developed for the 2015 television season in a pilot featuring Fowler as Franco and Brian d’Arcy as Arthur; however,it never got picked up. CBS then ordered the series to be re-piloted. Outside of Fowler, most of the characters were recast and Hirsch was brought in to play the role of Arthur.

I had high hopes for Superior Donuts when it was announced Hirsch was joining the cast. While Hirsch is known by many for shows like Taxi and Dear John, it was his role as Alan Eppes on the CBS series Numb3rs where I really noticed him. I was crushed when his latest series Forever was canceled and couldn’t wait to see him return to television in a leading role. One would think the creators of a series based on a successful Broadway play that is given two attempts at a pilot would finally get it right. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.

At first glance, Superior Donuts features a diverse cast that, in most instances, should be applauded. But while watching the series premiere, I wondered whether the casting was meant for true diversity or to have more targets for jokes. At one point, Arthur makes an offensive comment to Maya (Anna Baryshnikov), a young graduate student from the neighborhood, who responds “It’s only ok when I say it.” Maya’s response seems to sum up how the casting was chosen. Rather than finding the best talent to fill the roles, Superior Donuts seems to have cast people based on the jokes in the series premiere. The writers seem to go for the low hanging fruit where the jokes don’t involve laughing with people, but at them. Almost every character’s introduction is followed by a joke based on their appearance. While some might find this approach to humor entertaining, I found it a turn-off and unnecessary.

Fowler is African American so Franco’s wisecracks are about drugs and growing up across the street from a crack house. Maz Jobrani plays Fawz, a local Iranian businessman who is excited to see new businesses like Starbucks move into the neighborhood. Commentary about him involves terrorist references and blowing things up. Maya is Caucasian so the show references her shame of her white privilege. Katey Sagal plays Randy, a Chicago cop who patrols the neighborhood. Given Randy’s a cop and Franco is black, it only takes a few seconds of screen time together before a comment about police shooting black people is made. Hirsch is Jewish so…well, you can figure it out from here.

I understand what makes Superior Donuts interesting on paper is the dynamic of a young black male trying to teach an old white guy new tricks and to improve his business, but that never fully plays out. For much of the “Pilot,” the inappropriate quips fail to hit their mark. I’m not sure if it’s because of the casting shake-up but I felt very little chemistry among the actors. It isn’t until the final few minutes of the series premiere that the episode actually shows some heart.

The final four minutes reveal you can have a diverse cast that is both heartwarming and entertaining when the jokes aren’t aimed at the characters. I’d love to watch a series based on the ending of ”Pilot.” It was like I watched two different episodes and kept asking myself, ‘Where was this during the rest of the “Pilot?’ The only question that remains is which Superior Donuts will show up going forward, the one that represents the first 17 minutes of the “Pilot” or the last four?

Tweet me @Staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about Superior Donuts “Pilot.”

Tune in to Superior Donuts Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c, only on CBS.

For more information on Superior Donuts, visit the official website.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.