In a sentenceMatthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson get along so well that the sitcom forgets to give them much to do
Brothers is a comedy series with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson playing characters credited under their own names. The cast includes Valentina (Natalie Martinez), Joy (Brittany Ishibashi), Wyatt (Nolan Almeida), Clara (Ella Grace Helton) and River (Noah Carganilla). Highdee Kuan plays Olive, Oona Yaffe plays Kai, and Holland Taylor plays Ma Mac. The first series comprises eight episodes, with David West Read, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson and Lee Eisenberg credited as creators. Friendship and the question of family frame the central pairing.
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Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are easy company, but Brothers gives them too little worth doing. Some sharp supporting performances cannot rescue a sitcom that keeps settling for the familiar joke.
Brothers has an agreeable central pairing and too little comedy to sustain it. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson play characters bearing their own names, giving the series an immediate source of interest and a fairly obvious job: find something funny about being these particular men. The creators, David West Read, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson and Lee Eisenberg, largely settle for letting them be pleasant company. Across eight episodes, that begins to feel like an excuse for leaving the jokes unfinished.
The ease between the leads is worth something. They make being together look comfortable, and a sitcom does not need to punish its characters, or its audience, to justify an evening. There is pleasure in watching performers who can suggest a history without having to explain every inch of it. But when the situation is familiar and the next joke is easy to anticipate, their charm has to compensate for the writing.
Woody Harrelson is the more rewarding comic presence, with Matthew McConaughey too often left in a muted role. We warmed to the scenes between Woody Harrelson and Highdee Kuan; the tenderness between them briefly made us care about something beyond the famous names. Holland Taylor, playing Ma Mac, also gives the ensemble a welcome lift. The supporting players’ sharper put-downs help, though too few of their characters have enough substance to remain interesting once the joke is over.
The bigger disappointment is how cautiously the series treats its stars. Having them play versions of themselves ought to give the writers access to vanities, blind spots and habits that a wholly invented character would need time to establish. Instead, the self-parody is mild enough to leave both public images comfortably intact. We do not need a confession from either man, but a comedy built around their names should risk making them a little less agreeable.
The surroundings have more character than some of the situations. Chris Teague, Bobby Bukowski and Gavin Kelly handle the cinematography, with production design by Melanie Jones, and the sense of place is one of the programme’s quiet pleasures. It helps the comedy feel inhabited, even when the writing falls back on stock complications. The locations hold our interest more reliably than those complications do.
Arge O’Neal, Sara Rose Nell, Tony Orcena, Liza Cardinale and Jamie Kennedy are credited with editing, and Nick Sena and Zachary Dawes supply the music. Neither department can solve the more basic problem of scenes that offer little surprise. The writing keeps returning to familiar sitcom business, while the series struggles to make its celebrity premise consistently useful. A firmer comic point of view would help more than a quicker cut or another musical cue.
There is nothing wrong with an undemanding sitcom. This one has enough warmth to explain the attraction, and enough unused comic potential to make its limitations frustrating. The pairing alone may satisfy those who already enjoy the company of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. For an evening that depends on the jokes rather than the guests, we would choose something else.
The reviews lean negative on Brothers, though there is broad agreement that its cast supplies some pleasure. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson’s easy comic chemistry draws praise even from critics who find little else to recommend. Supporting performances also earn approval, with Holland Taylor singled out more than once. The warmer notices describe an amiable, undemanding sitcom; even several cooler ones acknowledge occasional laughs and the leads’ natural ease together.
The main reservations concern familiar plots, predictable jokes and writing that gives the cast too little to work with. Critics differ substantially over how far charm compensates: The Guardian finds the series fun despite its inessentiality, while Variety argues that the chemistry cannot sustain such thin material and faults its lack of self-scrutiny. IndieWire likewise sees the stars caught between self-parody and self-flattery. The divide is chiefly over whether the performers make the familiarity enjoyable or merely bearable.
The critic calls the sitcom a fun, tasty treat, despite finding it inessential. He praises the comic dynamic between the leads and the supporting cast, especially Holland Taylor and Lisa Gilroy.
Read the full review →O’Hara finds the series amiable and gently amusing, though somewhat overstuffed. She particularly praises the easy comic chemistry between its overqualified leads and the supporting cast’s sharp put-downs.
Read the full review →Travers finds the series limp, clichéd, and forgettable. He faults it for leaving its stars stranded between self-parody and self-flattery.
Read the full review →Quah finds the comedy pedestrian, with only occasional laughs, though the series has some appeal. He praises the textured Austin locations and McConaughey’s charisma, while noting that many jokes are predictable.
Read the full review →Adams finds the series half-baked and forgettable, despite its occasional laughs and strong cast. He especially praises Harrelson’s comic performance and the tender dynamic he develops with Kuan, while criticizing the stock plots and McConaughey’s muted role.
Read the full review →Fienberg finds the series intermittently engaging but mostly aimless, clichéd, and forgettable. He praises the stars’ natural on-screen chemistry, while criticizing the weak writing and lack of a cohesive voice.
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