Primetime TV Review: Ordinary Joe

TV Review!

“Ordinary Joe” Review on by Eva 9/24/2021

I decided to watch Ordinary Joe because it sounded interesting… but when I watched the show, I found it to be confusing.

The show centers around Joe Kimbreau (James Wolk), who graduates from college and has a choice to make of what to do with the rest of his graduation day. Joe’s first option ]is to ask Amy (Natalie Martinez), whom he just met, on a date. Joe’s second choice is to go with his girlfriend, Jenny (Elizabeth Lail), to the beach for a talk. His third choice for the day is to go to dinner with his family. The show then follows Joe’s three possible choices or timelines. If he goes with Amy on a date, he becomes a famous musician, marries her and they try to have a child; if he goes with Jenny, he becomes a nurse with a disabled son and an unhappy marriage. If Joe chooses dinner with his family, he becomes a cop who is single but still wonders what happened to Amy and Jenny.

This show is a bit confusing because it switches randomly from Joe’s three parallel lives, and you have to really pay attention to understand what Joe is doing and which life he is living. I really like James Wolk as Joe – he makes the best of what he is given and gives the audience a reason to root for Joe, hoping that he will solve his problems.

I think this show needs to work on being a little less confusing… maybe if they dealt with one of Joe’s lives in each episode, instead of all three lives in the same episode, it would work better. I think the show will do okay because it comes after “The Voice” on Monday nights. I will keep watching it to see if it improves, but for now I will give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Read Our Interview with Wolk

MORE INFORMATION:

ORDINARY JOE (NBC)

BROADCAST HISTORY:
9/20/21 – ???

STATUS:
currently airing (fall 2021)TIME SLOT:
mondays from 10:00 PM-11:00 PM ESTCURRENT SEASON:
1 (??? episodes)VISIT THE OFFICIAL WEB SITE

DESCRIPTION:
(from NBC’s web site, September 2021) Life is all about the choices you make – and sometimes, what you do in a single moment can change everything. This new heartfelt, life-affirming drama follows Joe Kimbreau, who faces one of these decisions at his college graduation. The three parallel stories that diverge from that night find Joe and the people around him with different careers, relationships and family lives, showing the unexpected ways that things change – and stay the same. But when it comes down to it, there is no “right” choice; no matter what happens, Joe’s life is always messy, exciting, tough, unpredictable… and beautiful.

PRINCIPAL CAST INFORMATION:
· Charlie Barnett as Eric Payne
· Elizabeth Lail
· James Wolk as Joe Kimbrough
· Natalie Martinez as Amy

CREW INFORMATION:
· Adam Davidson as EP/DIR (Pilot)
· Adam Kassan as EP
· Garrett Lerner as CRTR/EP
· Howard Klein as EP
· Matt Reeves as EP
· Rafi Crohn as EP
· Russel Friend as CRTR/EP