Home Economics (2021–2023)
7/10
A Humorous Balance
27 September 2021
"Home Economics" is a comedy, nothing more. It is about an extended family in which one member is financially well-off and living on a different economic plane than his siblings. This generates some friction, in part due to envy, but also because one wing of the family---the sister in a biracial lesbian relationship-rejects anything on its face that appears to be un-woke.

This is where I think some reviewers misunderstand the series. It is not about promoting wokism; some of its best jokes are stabs at the virtue signaling, hypocrisy and idiocy that comes with some ultra-progressive dogma. When they talk about the pronouns for a pet, you know they know what the real joke is.

Some of the humor might be termed intersectional. Not in the sense that the term is used by progressives, but in terms of the intersection of various doctrines that contradict each other. So you have a scene where the sister is called out for pitting her own feminist ideology against her professed belief that women (and girls) should be supported in their endeavors.

These jabs are not dwelt on. They pass quickly in the course of normal conversation, making them even more impactful.

Like most comedies, the quality of the show depends primarily on its characters. The ensemble nature of this show makes all the characters important, but some carry the load of the humor. And the cast is committed to the humor. The writing is also essential. Though this is not on the same level as "Frasier" or "Modern Family" and thus does not deserve a "10", it deserves more than the "1" that some reviewers have doled out.

At this point, I am content with the balance of the humor---willing to skewer the rich brother or the virtuously poorer members in equal measure.
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