You’re reading the Watching newsletter. Every week, our team will bring TV and movie recommendations right to your inbox. Enjoy the edition below, and look for future newsletters on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Eccentric animation with heart
Dear Watchers,Normally you don’t turn to Adult Swim for heartwarming programming. The animation block is known for shows like “Rick and Morty” and “Smiling Friends,” which skew more weird and experimental than touching. But “Haha, You Clowns” grounds its wonderfully oddball comedy with sweetness. Adult Swim just renewed the series for two more seasons — all 10 episodes of the first are streaming on HBO Max. Created by Joe Cappa, “Haha, You Clowns” focuses on Preston, Tristan and Duncan Campbell, the large sons of Tom Campbell, a genial weatherman. With dopey voices provided by Cappa, who also voices Tom, the Campbell boys look and sound like numbskulls of the Beavis and Butthead variety. Their eyes are small, their necks are thick, and their hair is fashioned into oafish middle parts. And while the Campbells do get into mischief, their main goal in life is making sure their father is happy. That’s because the Campbell family is still grieving the recent death of the boys’ mother. Almost every episode builds to a moment when soft music plays and the Campbells’ eyes redden as they profess how much they mean to one another. Cappa manages to strike a tricky balance, allowing you to laugh at the Campbells’ silliness while also genuinely feeling for them. The episodes are 12 minutes long, and most have fairly simple plot lines. (One exception is the recently released season finale, which goes to surreal places as Tristan gets obsessed with improv comedy and takes it too far.) In the first episode, the boys plot to make sure their dad stays up all the way through movie night. In another, they spend too much time in a newly installed hot tub they inherited from their grandmother. The show is steeped in a deeply nontoxic version of masculinity. For example, when the Campbells encounter a therapist (voiced by Justin Theroux) who tries to take out his own daddy issues on them, they resolve to show him how genuine the love between a father and his children can be. “Haha, You Clowns” feels a little like a Trojan horse, sneaking tenderness and healthy role models into a genre known for goofiness and crassness. You might just tear up along with the Campbells. Also this week
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