Review of Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show

Six episodes in, Jerrod Carmichael's 2024 reality series has been often harshly cathartic and sometimes acutely funny. The reality aspect is no joke as he pulls no punches in making public the personal challenges of being a successful comedian who came out just two years ago. A charismatic personality, Carmichael shifts mercurially between introspective and cruel, but it's hard not to root for him. I got hooked when he painfully confessed his unrequited love for his best friend in the first episode. So far, it has cut deepest with the episodes focused on a road trip with his errant father and a frigid homecoming with his deeply religious mother. Some moments border on exploitative, yet it may be the best, bravest thing on TV now.