Episode Guide
The Brothers Rodman Recreate The Opus Taste of Van Nuys Monk Monday LA’s Best Nose Lazio Suna Krachtbal The Trink Underage drinking, premature ejaculation over a dog and a host of unlikable characters – welcome to Brews Brothers, Netflix’s boozy brewery-set comedy that misses the mark by a long way. With a thinly veiled plot entombed by an abundance of toilet humour, Brews Brothers squanders any potential it may have, with the few bits of comedy gold hidden in the mouldy beer taps. With an eagerness to over-explain jokes and surround itself with unlikable characters, Brews Brothers has little to offer that hasn’t been done better and more effectively in other sitcoms. Comedy is subjective of course and there’s a reason You’ve Been Framed and America’s Funniest Videos show car crashes – someone out there will find this hilarious. There’s definitely a crowd for this sort of material but compared to other comedies, Brews Brothers lacks a solid hook to really get you invested in the show. As background noise in a busy household and for those who love crass and toilet humour for the sake of shocks rather than in a witty context, there’s definitely a lot of material to like. The problem with Brews Brothers, and it’s something that never really improves over the 8 episodes available, is that the show over-explains its jokes and worse, sets things up for a second season that’ll probably never get green-lit (I say probably because you never know with comedies like this). The biggest issue with Brews Brothers though comes from its main ensemble of characters. The brewery, and subsequent season itself, revolves around the sibling rivalry of brewery-based brothers Wilheim and Adam. Both of them essentially compete against one another to be the best brewer early on but a twist at the end of the first episode sets into motion a big obstacle for the brothers to overcome. From here, the season follows a consistent character arc for them both and their rivalry is given the time to grow and evolve. Whether you’ll stick around to see the fruits of this journey blossom however, remains to be seen. Alongside the two brothers are former MMA fighter Sarah and the quiet slapstick of Chuy. These two essentially play off the different scenarios that take place, with each episode taking a slightly different angle to the woes of the brewery. If you’re not wholly sold on the premise by the end of the first episode however, it’s unlikely you’ll change your mind further down the line. Brews Brothers will find an audience but it also feels like a stand up comedian over-explaining their own jokes after a solitary chuckle from a stone-faced and bored crowd. It’s a show that thinks it’s cleverer than it actually is and doesn’t have the chops to follow through with these incredulous claims. Much like other crude or crass material of its kind, Brews Brothers will appeal to some but whether that some is large enough to sustain it for a second season is up for debate.
