It may take some while to find its feet, but if you give Government Cheese a chance, just as Hampton’s family do for him, you will be rewarded. Lead David Oyelowo (Selma, Silo, Lawman: Bass Reeves), who also serves as executive producer, gets the long-overdue role to showcase his talent, and range. Accompanied by an able cast, often-satisfying flashes of surrealism (though sometimes muddied) and a heartening core message,
Government Cheese finds us in Los Angeles, California - San Fernando Valley, to be precise. The year is 1969 and Hampton Chambers (Oyelowo) returns home to his family following a three-year stretch in prison due to cheque fraud. During his time behind bars, Hampton has found God and a renewed determination to be the perfect family man - but finds his wife Astoria (Simone Missick, Luke Cage) distant, much to his dismay. It is a similar state of his affairs with his two sons Einstein (Evan Ellison) and Harrison (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) - whilst the carefree Einstein shares his father’s can-do attitude and creative zest (albeit with more of a hippie bent which mildly perturbs Hampton), Harrison is aloof and passive-aggressive. Hampton, somewhat lacking in crucial self-awareness, sees it as his duty to put things right - so in his mind, the solution to all his problems starts with…a self-sharpening drill, jauntily named the ‘Bit Magician, that he invented in captivity. Meanwhile, the budding entrepreneur is having to contend with the looming threat of the Prevost brothers, a French gang to whom he owes an not inconsiderable sum of money. This leads him to consider more creative and illicit solutions to his liquidity problem, including teaming up with his friend Bootsy (Bokeem Woodbine) to rob a synagogue.
If this all sounds a bit quirky, well, that is because it is. In its opening episode though, Government Cheese is itself akin to our protagonist - in his worst aspects: Conflicting, self-sabotaging and unsuccessful in making the right impression to whatever audience he finds before him. This is not helped but the pilot’s meandering pace, flashbacks to Hampton’s time in prison and lack of chemistry between the characters (which is arguably by design) - not to mention the significant lack of hard-hitting humour (or even a consistent style of humour) in what is styled as a comedy.
Did that put you off? Well, not quite so fast. Once I got past the awkwardness of that first episode, I found much of my significant scepticism assuaged by what followed - ultimately winning me over to the madcap world crafted by director Paul Hunter (Bulletproof Monk) and writer Aeysha Carr (Brooklyn Nine-Nine). The interplay between the Chambers family members, as well as the wider cast gradually transitions from awkwardly sterile to convincing - although the pacing and editing could have done with some tightening to allow what can sometimes feel like disconnected, albeit entertaining vignettes, to coalesce into something more satisfyingly cohesive and thematically potent. This extends to the depiction and arcs of the characters themselves, whom would have benefitted from a redraft to balance its flirtations with surrealism, social commentary, satire and period drama. At the end of the day though, it is David Oyelowo who makes - and elevates - this show. Even when bound by limitations of narrative and script, the undeniable charisma of Oyelwoo is what sells you on Hampton’s often conflicting nature.
Government Cheese is a show that, like the inspirational proclamations uttered by Hampton throughout, is full of possibility (for another example see Billy Crudup’s cancelled Hello Tomorrow!). However, that possibility is not quite fully realised when its 10 episodes are taken as a whole, disjointed as they sometimes feel. In all, it makes a sufficiently entertaining but somewhat unsatisfying watch.
The 10-episode series world premiered at SXSW 2025. The first 4 episodes premiere April 16 on Apple TV+, with subsequent episodes debuting weekly.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
About Government Cheese
Premiere Date: 16 April 2025
Episode Count: 10
Executive Producer/Showrunner: Ayesha Carr and Paul Hunter
Writer: Paul Hunter
Director: Paul Hunter
Production: Apple Studios and MACRO Television Studios
Distribution: Apple TV+
Cast: David Oyelowo, Simone Missick, Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Evan Ellison, Bokeem Woodbine, Jeremy Bobb, Louis Cancelmi, Julien Heron, Djilali Rez-Kallah, Louis Ferreira, Thomas Beaudoin, Kyle Mac, John Ortiz, Adam Beach
Synopsis: “Government Cheese” is a surrealist family comedy set in 1969 San Fernando Valley that tells the story of the Chambers, a quirky family pursuing lofty and seemingly impossible dreams, beautifully unfettered by the realities of the world. When Hampton Chambers (David Oyelowo) is released from prison, his long-awaited family reunion doesn’t go quite as he’d planned. During his absence, Hampton’s wife, Astoria (Simone Missick), and sons, Einstein (Evan Ellison) and Harrison (Jahi Di’Allo Winston), have formed an unconventional family unit, and Hampton’s return spins their world into chaos.