Selfie Series Premiere Review: “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Selfie is that, though it reserves the majority of its ire for Eliza, the supporting players don’t get out unscathed. The company Eliza and Henry work for has a definite Veridian Dynamics feel to it, and the media addictions present in Eliza can be found in pretty much every character other than Henry. Company boss Sam (Homeland‘s David Harewood) is nutty and out-of-touch in some pretty hilarious ways (he reminds me of an American spin on Denholm Reynholm from terrific Britcom The IT Crowd), and other bit employees get some funny lines to illustrate just how pervasive phone culture has become.

Selfie is far from perfect. The pilot is a little choppy in terms of setting up its premise. There was a ton for the show to do in this first episode, and a lot of story feels crammed in. Hopefully it will take the time to breath in subsequent episodes, or else it could risk becoming more exhausting than amusing. One main character, receptionist Charmonique (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), makes less of an impression than she should, and the writers will have to work harder to keep her from turning into a collection of cliches.

Additionally, a gross scene in which Eliza becomes ill on the plane feels conspicuously out of place; though that could (and should) be a one-off, the fact that it takes up time in the pilot makes me worry that the writers aren’t sure what they actually want Selfie to be. Is this a low-aiming show that goes for the scatological gags, or a sharp commentary on the ubiquity of the online identity and decline of the off-screen one?

Emily Kapnek is working behind the scenes, and her touch definitely explains why Selfie feels like a spiritual cousin to Kapnek’s Suburgatory. (Additionally, Selfie director Julie Ann Robinson did episodes of Suburgatory). Like that comedy, Selfie is clearly satirizing modern society, but it’s also trying to establish enjoyable characters who can fit cleanly into that society without becoming stereotypes themselves. Unfortunately, I can’t say that Selfie has arrived as fully-formed as Suburgatory. Unlike with that underdog comedy, and ironically for a show about social media, Selfie will probably have a hard time being liked by many.

Whether Selfie will be met with the same level of success on a creative front as Suburgatory – or, perhaps as critically, whether ABC will even give it the chance to – is a question that won’t be answered for a few weeks. For now, however, I’m giving Selfie my stamp of approval. Logistical problems remain, but the writing is enjoyably astute, the actors are solid, and Suburgatory‘s mourning fans need something to fall back on. It looks like there’s a high chance Selfie will fit the bill.

Note: For this review I viewed the pilot episode, which is now available on Hulu. The show premieres on September 30th.