TV Review: Paradise PD

​By Daniel Lang - Managing Director

Picture credit: Netflix Media Centre

First episode date: 31 August 2018
Network: Netflix
Program creators: Roger Black, Waco O'Guin
Stars: Dana Snyder, Cedric Yarbrough, David Herman, Tom Kenny, Sarah Chalke, and Kyle Kinane.

​I'm the first to admit that I'm a rather big fan of adult-orientated animation.

From Ricky and Morty and Archer to Bob's Burgers and more traditional offerings like The Simpsons or Family Guy, cartoons either geared directly or indirectly to a more mature audience have made up a large part of my consumed television diet.

I am always open to adding new shows to the mix and while I'm by no means an expert of the critical construction or review of a piece of film or television, I know what I like and I came into Netflix's new show Paradise P.D. with a fair mix of trepidation and expectation.

From what little I had seen before clicking on the first episode and setting off on another journey of discovery, it looked like Paradise P.D. might be a little cruder at the base than was necessary, but as a fan of Anthony Jeselnik or Frankie Boyle, I am not above shock humour or dark jokes.

Picture credit: Daily Motion

That said, the over-the-top dark jokes seemed contrived and managed to force little more than a chuckle here or there as I worked my way through the early episodes.

Sure, there was something here, the basic bones of a decent story and some funny one-liners, but the positives were far too quickly lost in more and more obvious attempts to steal a quick laugh with jokes or setups that offered no meat on the bones and left me feeling as if the whole affair was just a little cheap and nasty.

Whether it's the Police Chief who had his testicles removed by multiple gun shots from his hapless son or said hapless son who becomes an officer himself to the chagrin of his father, or the talking drug dog who consumes all the drugs imaginable or the aggressive female cop who repeatedly sexually assault a large southern man, the character development seems to have stopped pretty early on in the process.

These characters are who we think they are very early on and different situations and side characters do little to change that as the series progresses.

Thankfully, the initial journey that Paradise P.D. takes us on is a relatively short one. With just ten episodes making up the first series, the story arc isn't given the time to develop, though that may not be a genuine issue given the lack of character growth or even likeability through to that point.

Paradise P.D. feels almost entirely aimed at an audience of teenage boys who will laugh willfully and repeatedly at the thought of a man's testicles being shot off and the ever-present danger of him turning into a woman without testosterone patches.

The voice work behind the show is decent enough, with the creators leaning heavily on the crew that voiced their short-lived series Brickleberry previously. 

​The return of most voice characters and the similarities between many of the characters in Paradise P.D. to Brickleberry goes best without too much discussion. Seemingly, Netflix told the pair they wanted Brickleberry but set in a police station and that's basically what we got.

If you want to sit down, shut your brain off and not think too much, I'd still probably suggest you find something else, but Paradise P.D. will suffice as background noise at the very least.

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​Have you watched Paradise P.D. yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!