Dispatches from Elsewhere

Starring: Jason Segel (10 episodes), Andre 3000 (10 episodes), Eve Lindley (10 episodes), Sally Field (10 episodes), Richard E. Grant (8 episodes), Joe Forbrich (7 episodes), Ceci Balagot (7 episodes), Tara Lynne Barr (6 episodes), Cherise Boothe (6 episodes)
Directed by: Michael Trim (3 episodes), Marta Cunningham (1 episode), Keith Gordon (1 episode), Alethea Jones (1 episode), Jason Segel (1 episode)
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Drama, Mystery
2020

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A group of strangers come together to try and uncover a mystery that involves secret societies and the role we play in our own lives.

Review:
Tim: Before I get to my review of Dispatches from Elsewhere, I need to share a quick pet peeve of mine, related to AMC. There's this approach some services have (AMC among the worst), where they don't announce a decision on a television series. This one debuted in 2020 to average-to-low ratings. And yet, there still hasn't been a formal announcement about whether it is renewed or cancelled. It's now early 2022 and there's still no information. Is the series over? Will they bring it back? It puts me in a tough spot, do I review the series or continue to wait? I finally decided to renew and act like the series has ended. I wish AMC would make decisions on these series (The Terror is another one).

I was really excited about Dispatches from Elsewhere. I'm a big Jason Segel fan- the work he did on How I Met Your Mother is among my favorite television performances. I've met him briefly in real life and had a short but great conversation with him. He seems like a super cool guy. This series looked whimsical and unique, odd and original. I was immediately intrigued to go on this journey. I know that a lot of people love this series and it spoke to them powerfully and deeply. I appreciate the series for touching so many lives. I didn't quite like it, though. I appreciated aspects of it, but I was most often bored by the events on screen. 10 episodes felt far too long and the episodes themselves often meandering, plodded along. There's this promise of big mysteries and grand reveals and the truth is mostly a major letdown. It's a series that started with such promise, but never lives up to it. Truthfully, I hope the series is cancelled. If they decided to do another season (it would most likely be an anthology), I honestly don't know if I would tune in. This was a bit of a struggle for me to get through.

Now, I never hated the series. There's a lot of things I liked about it. I wish the payoff was better, but going along with the mystery was fun. Waiting week-to-week to find out more pieces of the puzzle was certainly interesting. I thought the cast was good and I appreciated how this series absolutely did not take the typical paths. That's probably the best thing about Dispatches from Elsewhere- it's unlike anything else on television. Segal had a unique vision for the series and he followed through on it. I didn't enjoy the journey myself, but I know many others did.

I enjoyed Segal in the lead role here. Peter wasn't my favorite character, but Segal did a good job in the role. He's likeable and goofy and a solid actor and he brought those things into this character. I'll always applaud seeing Sally Field in a role and it was fun to get to see her here. Janice again isn't the best character, but Field seems to have had fun playing her. I liked her character's arc and how she developed as the series progressed. It was interesting to see Andre 3000 here. I'm not sure he did a consistently great job and his character was mostly annoying, but he brought something distinct to the cast, for sure. Eve Lindley was easily the standout of the series, though. I have to admit, I don't watch a lot of media that prominently features trans women (much of that is that too few pieces of entertainment feature trans characters, but I'm likely to blame as well for not broadening my horizons). I thought Lindley was fantastic in the series. Simone was perhaps the most interesting character and Lindley brought emotion, vulnerability, and authenticity to the role. I really think this is the series' most lasting legacy- a prominent series featuring an incredible trans woman in a challenging, believable role. Lindley was great. Richard E. Grant did a fantastic job as well. He tapped into the weirder aspects of his own personality for Octavio. He wasn't interested in restraint and the series was better for his gonzo performance.

While I was intrigued about the central mystery of the Elsewhere Society and the rest of the mystery, I was most often bored by the thrust of the story. The characters are a bit weak and I struggled to find much sympathy for them (outside of Lindley and Segal, to an extent). The mystery builds to ultimately nothing and it kind of makes you question why you took the journey in the first place. That being said, the final episode is surprisingly insane and makes a huge, unexpected departure. I actually loved that and couldn't even believe my eyes. That part was really cool, but it wasn't enough to redeem the previous episodes. The finale was one of my favorite parts of the series, but the 10 episodes as a whole are nothing more than a letdown. I did love the positivity and the commentary on life and how we live it. I absolutely acknowledge that Dispatches from Elsewhere put a lot of positivity into the world and many people connected deeply with the characters and the story. I'm so glad they did and I'm not surprised because as the series creator, that feels very much in line with who Segal is. I love that he took big risks on this personal journey. For me, though, it doesn't quite live up to those ideals. The plodding story and lack of payoff crumble the foundation of the series. This was one I truly wanted to love, but I couldn't bring myself to like.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: How I Met Your Mother, Freaks and Geeks, Maniac