Average Joe (2023)

Matt Roush says...

A comedy scene-stealer in shows like black-ish, Deon Cole gives melodrama a shot with galvanizing results in a Breaking Bad-style thriller about an ordinary Pittsburgh plumber and family man suddenly thrust into a nightmare crime scenario. After burying his father, Joe (Cole) is horrified to learn that dad’s tow-truck company was somehow involved with Russian mobsters, and his death left $10 million and a Lamborghini unaccounted for. With murderous gangsters threatening his family, Joe enlists his friends—including Leon, a struggling hardware-store owner (Malcolm Barrett), and Touch, a cop with some dangerous bad habits (Michael Trucco)—to fight back. Suddenly, they’re dealing with issues like body disposal in a fast-moving series that juggles grisly shock value with dark gallows humor. The cast is solid, with Cynthia Kaye McWilliams a standout as Leon’s crime-show-obsessed wife Cathy, who steps up when things get tense. Nothing average about this series.

What's Worth Watching (Jun 26)