A caricature of teen angst and helicopter parenting
Fox has long touted its Sunday night series of shows under the moniker Animation Domination. That has included a long list of shows including The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy, American Dad, and more. Duncanville is the latest on this list.
The brainchild of Amy Poehler, Mike Scully and Julie Thacker-Scully, Duncanville centers around Duncan, a teenager who dreams of making it big as long as it requires zero effort. Duncan lives a typical suburban life with his parents Annie (Poehler) and Jack (Ty Burrell.) He shares his home with his annoying sister Kimberly (Riki Lindholme) and adopted sister Jing (Joy Osmanski.) When not at home, he spends his time with an odd group of friends. These include Yangzi (Yassir Lester), Bex (Betsy Sodaro), and Wolf (Zach Cherry.)
Duncan is infatuated with Mia (Rashida Jones) who attends his school and works part time delivering pizza. She’s also a would-be activist and conservationist. Gym coach Mr. Mitch (Wiz Khalifa) is one of the kids’ best friends among the school staff.
Duncanville has several repeating gags. One of which is Duncan’s typical teenage boy dreams, like Wonder Woman making him a man, or flying on the wings of Scully because he doesn’t really understand who that person is or what he means in terms of history. Another is Jack’s obsession with rock stars. This is on display when Jack dreams of writing a rock opera, or when it is revealed that the family’s garage is completely filled with his concert memorabilia.
Jing is the surprise standout on the show. Her obsession with Duncan is written into the pilot episode but really hits its stride in “Sister, Wife.” Jing actually gets Duncan to marry her, but this is the episode that includes some of the first season’s best and most outrageous musical performances. (It also includes some amazing voice actors like Dee Bradley Baker and Kathy Najimny.)
Jack is the sitcom dad who caves any time his kids ask for anything. Annie is more hard-nosed, in line with her parking enforcement career. Her authority is directly challenged when the team gets a smart appliance called “Frdigy” in episode five. Other hijinx include Annie’s stint as a TV judge, Duncan’s nomination as class president, the kids winding up in Mexico, and the controversy that is Witch Day.
Duncanville is a well written family sitcom with the versatility to explore completely absurd circumstances. The cast includes veterans from Parks and Rec, Modern Family, The LEGO Batman Movie, Star-Girl, Comedy Bang! Bang! and more. The characters are familiar and funny. Their willingness to break into song at any time is another added benefit. It’s an outright funny show with lots of laughs, a few moments of emotional investment, and a family story worth visiting over and over again.