TV Review - Dead Pixels

Jon Brown is an Emmy nominee for being a producer on HBO's Succession. Prior to Succession, Brown worked on a series called Loaded (2017), which was about people involved with video games. He came back and created this series, which is also about people involved with video games. However, the people here would not be so casual as to say they're "involved with video games." To call these people obsessed might even be an understatement. They live and breathe video games, particularly one video game, as it consumes every waking moment of their lives. They even play the game incessantly at their jobs. It doesn't seem as if their game play is interfering with their work. Their jobs have them sitting in front of a computer all day, so diverting to a video game probably isn't so detrimental, but while their work might not be suffering, their personal lives certainly are.

The issue is that I'm not sure Brown's series is meant to satirize and in effect criticize his protagonists or if he truly wants the audience to empathize with them. If the first, two episodes of his series is any indication, I only ended up hating his protagonists, regarding them as some of the worst people ever put to the small screen. It's actually awful to think that these people are supposed to be representative of how people steeped in video game culture behave. It's awful because these people are awful. It would be one thing if these people remained isolated to their bubble and didn't unleash their vitriol onto others, but the fact is established that they do unleash and as a result hurt outside people. Even after they realize they've hurt others, they don't change. They keep doing it. After three episodes of their vitriol, I had enough. There is a level of comedy in the vitriol that some might enjoy. Brown worked on the TV series Veep, so those familiar with that level of comedy or sense of humor might enjoy this series, which brings a lot of the same.

Alexa Davies stars as Meg Jefferies, an office worker who spends all day in front of a computer screen. While she's at work, she plays an online game called "Kingdom Scroll," which is supposed to be akin to something like World of Warcraft. It has similar characters or styles as that kind of fantasy role-playing. However, when she gets home, she goes to her room and gets on the game and spends all night in front of it. She stops only to eat, usually a quick instant food, and to use the bathroom, although she's said that she's found extreme ways to get around doing those things. It seems as if she's addicted to the game. It's not that she spends her whole time, staring at a screen. From a person's phone to a laptop to a TV, most people spend a lot of time staring at a screen, doing the game is the only thing she cares about.

Will Merrick (Poldark and Skins) co-stars as Nicky Kettle, another office worker who spends his whole day and his whole night playing Kingdom Scroll. He doesn't work at the same office as Meg, but he is her roommate. His room is actually right next to hers. Because the game is multiplayer and online, they do interact with each other, but they only tend to see each other through their avatars in the video game, which this series shows us. Furthering themselves in the game and possibly winning it, whatever that means, seems to be his singular goal. However, when Meg starts talking about another guy who is a new worker at her office, it seems as if Nicky gets a bit jealous.

Sargon Yelda plays Usman, the third person that's apart of Meg and Nicky's group. It's not sure where he works. The only time you ever see him is sitting on his couch at home. He's ostensibly a stay-at-home dad, taking care of his young child, but his singular focus is on the video game that he actively ignores his child and disregards her. Of all of them, he's probably the worst because of his outright negligence of his child and his wife. His negligence is played for laughs, but after three episodes straight where that's the only thing we get from him and about him, it's immediately repetitive and awful, and makes me not ever want to see his character again.

David Mumeni plays Russell, the aforementioned new worker at Meg's office. He's a cute guy with whom Meg wants to have sex, which makes Nicky jealous, but Russell is a caricature of a guy who's new to gaming culture and doesn't take as seriously. He's a caricature of a dumb guy who doesn't understand all the intricacies and nuances of gaming culture and perhaps doesn't care. He's a good guy but he's consistently and incessantly mocked. He's also shunned in a lot of ways. I suppose that anyone who is advanced in something and highly experienced can get frustrated at someone who is a novice, but they are cruel to him with comedic lines that some might find funny, but are indeed cruel.

Their cruelty though is only online and behind Russell's back. When Meg confronts Russell ever in real life, she isn't cruel but awkward, and often reserved and shy. That is perhaps a commentary on online or Internet culture. It's that a person will often say and do things online that are way more provocative, bold or even cruel that they would never do in real life or face-to-face with a person. Their personas or personalities in private don't match what they are in public, but their personas in private are so toxic and bitter that it's just such a turn-off.

Charlotte Ritchie (Feel Good and Fresh Meat) plays Alison, the woman who is the head of the apartment or flat where Meg and Nicky live. She's friends with both, but she doesn't play the video game. She's probably the best character because she's the most reasonable. She points out how toxic and bitter the two of them are when it comes to their behaviors. Yet, they're so awful to her that even though I like her, their attitudes toward her only makes me not like them even more and not want to watch any more.

Rated TV-14.
Running Time: 30 mins. / 6 eps.

Available on CW Seed.