Comedy Central Gives its 2 Cents on Internet Fame with ‘The Other Two’

Premiering next week, The Other Two is a new comedy from Comedy Central. Created by Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider (both writers for Saturday Night Live), and starring Drew Tarver (Bajillion Dollar Propertie$) and Helene Yorke (The Night Before, Masters of Sex) as the older siblings of the latest tween sensation, Chase Dreams. The Other Two follows their trials as they climb out of their younger brother’s shadow, aiming to become successful Millennials in NYC. Molly Shannon also stars as the incredibly supportive and somewhat air-headed mother of the three. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Two down-on-their luck siblings try to make it in the big city. They struggle to overcome changing cultural landscapes involving the increased need for gratification through social media, dumbed down expectations of quality in artistry, and a barrage of stereotypes on stereotypes on stereotypes. Oh, and they have to be supportive to their super famous younger brother now, even though it’s tough to smile when their own lives are plummeting fast. Keeping it 100 I’m really bored of unlikable white cis characters being annoying and incompetent in NYC. The Other Two wants to be funny in a smart way, but without actually trying. Hot-topic issues like sexism and the reclamation of derogatory words are brought up, but all the jokes fall flat. There is little substance behind them, so it feels increasingly shallow and awkward to watch. What’s worse, is that there is little to no compassion…