When you speak of the many streaming services that exist and their shows, Apple TV is one of the last to be mentioned. Despite that, they have dozens of hidden gems when it comes to their television shows that people are either not aware of or have a niche fan base. Just this past week, Apple TV secured itself an Emmy with their horror-comedy, Widow’s Bay. While I’ll say that they excel specifically with sci-fi, they’ve proven to also be good at comedy.
Brothers, a brand new show that follows the fictionalised lives of Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as they begin to uncover a family secret that possibly reveals them as brothers. This is a concept that immediately caught my attention, as it follows two actors who have conquered shows like True Detective. Just the thought of them together in a comedy – that’s not only about them but also about the possibilities of being brothers – is enough to create a fantastic piece of television. Unfortunately, from the first episode, it just feels a little tame with its execution.
Before the episode begins, we get “Based on a True Rumor” written on the screen, which adds an extra layer to the show. This isn’t just some silly concept they’ve miraculously come up with. It’s based on a real rumour surrounding the two actors being half brothers.
When the show starts off, we find Harrelson with his family in Malibu. We immediately learn that he’s not the strongest family man. He has a wife and two daughters, and when his oldest, Olive (Highdee Kuan), needs some consoling after her engagement is broken off, Harrelson fails to provide words that can comfort her. There are small pockets of comedy within Brothers that genuinely work, and you find some of them early on.
“F*ck men! F*ck the patriarchy! Hey patriarch, what do you have to say?” followed by Harrelson suggesting he’s going to have them have a girl’s night while he goes to see McConaughey, who has supposedly been hounding him to visit. From this opening scene it’s already displayed that Harrelson is someone who runs away from situations that he can’t handle. He tried to hide when he noticed his daughter crying and then tried to leave completely when he was asked for advice. He’s not someone you can rely on, and that comes back to bite him in the latter half of the episode.
Matthew McConaughey, on the other hand, comes across as more of a family man. They’re retiring his deceased father’s jersey, and he’s trying to prepare a speech for the rally. To him, this is one of the most important moments of his life. This immediately comes crushing down when Harrelson shows up unannounced. McConaughey, being the stand-up man that he is, welcomes him but asks only to have solitary time to himself so he can get this speech tomorrow.
Throughout this episode, we get the back and forth between McConaughey and Harrelson. You have the former, who has responsibilities they need to take care of, and then the latter, who has no responsibilities or care for other people’s responsibilities or time. What this first episode does do well is create that tension you find between brothers. As someone with an older brother myself, you’ll always have your ups and downs with them. That’s just the course of nature, and that’s exactly what McConaughey and Harrelson go through in this first episode.
During McConaughey’s speech, which he freestyles, he begins to understand that Harrelson is a friend that he needs in his life. Someone that puts their life on the line, just similar to his father. It’s towards the end of the episode where we learn that Ma Mac (Holland Taylor) had a history with Harrelson’s dad. The truth begins to slowly unravel that there’s a chance McConaughey and Harrelson are half brothers. Holland Taylor doesn’t spend much time in this episode, but she’s the clear standout with how she stays mysterious, which keeps an interesting angle to the show.
Harrelson decides to keep this revelation to himself as McConaughey reveals that he’s going to run for governor and wants him and his family by his side during the campaign trail. This is quite easily the one moment throughout the episode where Harrelson decides not to be selfish, and instead of dropping what could be this huge bomb, he allows McConaughey to revel in this big news he’s revealed.
As the second episode starts, we find McConaughey calling Harrelson “brother” unironically as Ma Mac continues to stay vague regarding the heavy bomb she dropped in the previous episode. “It’s just some silly thing that some old, drunk woman said to a stone old guy. Sounds like an opportunity for a lot of misunderstanding,” is what Ma Mac says as Harrelson continues to push. She isn’t giving in, and I think holding this truth back is what’s keeping this show on its legs. Despite the show being called Brothers, it’s unknown whether they’re half brothers for real or if all of this is a misunderstanding, and that’s what’s going to keep me tuning in weekly.
Overall, the second episode somehow feels slower compared to the first. It takes this focus onto hunting, which is a family tradition for McConaughey, as he gifts Wyatt, his son, a rifle for his sixteenth. It’s another display of how different both McConaughey and Harrelson can be. While one wants to revel in the hunt, the other intervenes to save the deer. The irony is that Woody ends up accidentally killing the deer himself. Instead of just brushing it aside, he delivers a well-thought-out eulogy for the deer as if it were a close friend of his that died. Brothers reaches these levels of absurdity but never goes the step above to take away from the focus of the show.
Brothers Episode 1 and 2 highlights the off-the-charts chemistry between Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey and the importance of their family in the overall story. Whether this will be enough to carry an entire season of television will need to be seen. This first episode is fun and has decent pacing, but it doesn’t hold enough to keep my attention through its already short runtime.
With the second episode, it moves at a slower pace, understanding Harrelson better as a character before escalating towards the end. There’s a deeper mystery regarding Harrelson’s father that Ma Mac knows a whole lot more than she’s leading on to. It has taken a hilarious concept and rumour and essentially turned it into what should be an entertaining piece of television, but the question is if the balance between this mystery and McConaughey’s race for governor will be strong enough to sustain itself.
As of now, Brothers is a show where you stay for Woody Harrelson’s and Matthew McConaughey’s friendship and come back for the ever-evolving mystery of their lineage and Ma Mac’s involvement. After Apple won Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys with Widow’s Bay, it feels like Brothers has arrived to humble them.
