Sadly, we’re still a few appearances shy of commencing the Tim Meadowsaissance, heretofore referred to as “The Meadows’ Spring Awakening.” (Not every name + “renaissance” rolls off the tongue like “McConaissance.”) Yes, the beloved character actor recently reprised his iconic role as Mr. Duvall in the “Mean Girls” musical and jolted extra life into “Peacemaker” Season 2 as a federal agent with “bird blindness,” but two standout supporting turns in two years (plus recurring voice roles) does not an awakening make. (Blame Paramount for nixing Michel Gondry’s musical “Golden,” which featured Meadows next to Pharrell Williams and Brian Tyree Henry — now that could’ve ushered in an Awakening.)
“DMV” gets the “SNL” vet closer to a winter bloom, but through two episodes, the CBS sitcom about beleaguered driving examiners, paper pushers, and desk jockeys isn’t providing its star enough fertilizer. (OK, OK, I’ll stop with the plant metaphors.) Really, it’s under-serving each of its talented cast members, which — if we follow our crestfallen leads and look at the bright side — at least means it’s a solvable problem (unlike the DMV itself).
The single-camera comedy starts by admitting what everyone already knows: Nobody likes the DMV. Every driver’s worst nightmare — yes, even more than crashing their dream car the second it rolls off the lot — is being forced to visit the Department of Motor Vehicles, a place where time stops and the red tape rolls on forever.
Colette (Harriet Dyer) knows the grind all too well. She’s been working at the East Hollywood DMV for five years, despite promising herself (and anyone listening) it’s just a temp job. Her closest friends aren’t clinging to the same sliver of sunshine Colette needs to keep going, but Vic (Tony Cavalero) and Gregg (Meadows) still support her whenever they can. Vic savors life’s simple pleasures — a meatball sub with crinkled potato chips for lunch, a shirtless afternoon on a hot day — even if they come at the expense of others. (That was Gregg’s sub, and Vic’s co-workers aren’t exactly thrilled about their half-nude colleague.)
Gregg is identified in the press notes as a misanthrope, but the jury’s still out on that predetermined character trait. Sure, when he mentions his frigid marital bed, it’s more statement than complaint, but he’s also positioned as Colette’s most supportive, encouraging friend. He cares about what counts — so far, at least.
Much can change after the first hour of a network sitcom, and at least a few things need to in “DMV.” For starters, Colette feels familiar for the wrong reasons. Both episodes pivot around her crush on Noa (Alex Tarrant), a hunky New Zealander who’s only been working at the DMV for a few weeks. Quickly establishing a “will they, won’t they” romance is a safe bet for viewer retention, and their rapport is sound enough. It’s just that creator Dana Klein (“9JKL,” “Friends with Better Lives”) seems to be positioning Dyer in a similar dynamic as her breakout role on the Aussie serial rom-com, “Colin from Accounts” — awkwardly flirting, awkwardly plotting, and generally embarrassing herself over and over.
Too much of the banter is sloppy and too many of her mistakes are avoidable. (The climax of the pilot really stretches to put Colette in an embarrassing spot.) “DMV” also recycles too many jokes within the same 20-minute arc. (I’m hesitant to identify them as “callbacks” — a new comedy should be eager to show off new jokes, and the adhesive maxi-pad bit just isn’t funny enough for a running gag.) At least we know Dyer is playing in a familiar sandbox, so it’s safe to assume she’ll start building better castles in time.
Everyone else leaves too little impact. Cavalero worked wonders on “The Righteous Gemstones,” and his eccentric ex-bouncer has plenty of untapped potential in the stuffy confines of a government office building. Tarrant is stuck playing a boring dreamboat, making it hard to tell if he’ll expand beyond Dyer’s dorky straight man. The office manager, Barbara Berry (Molly Kearney), gets points for stretching her well-intentioned buffoon of a boss, while ID photographer Ceci (Gigi Zumbado) barely gets enough screen time to speak her lines.
That leaves the two glaring questions facing “DMV’s” first season: Can the visual template lighten up enough to disassociate a fun network sitcom from its infamous real-world setting, and can it seed enough rich material for Meadows (and the rest of the cast) to open up like we know he can? Speaking to the former point, it’s great that “DMV” evokes an actual DMV — having been to a few in the greater Los Angeles area, the show’s soundstage could sub in for any one of them — but the bleak overhead lighting, dark walls, and black office furniture take things a step too far. A comedy stage still needs to be inviting, even if the place it’s modeled after isn’t.
As for Meadows, he does get the biggest laugh of the first two episodes, so there’s hope. Writers need time to get to know their stars’ strengths, even if those stars have been brightening our screens for decades. “DMV” just needs a little fine-tuning, and then we’ll be able to tell if it’s ready for what it’s cast already deserves: a long road ahead.
Grade: C
“DMV” premieres Monday, October 13 at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS. New episodes will be released weekly and available to stream on Paramount+.