It gets in its own way a little too often and its eight episodes are probably twice as many as it really needs. But it's still a show to watch and learn from.
Even as the show approaches twisted topics, it seems hesitant to take on a darker tone, which might serve the material better. The question it left me with is: Who is Woke meant to appeal to?
Woke adds new layers of funny to a situation that easily could have been predictable and pedantic... This is a pitch perfect comedy released at just the right time.
The specific, genuine Black anger inherent to Keith Knight & Marshall Todd's new show is something our country refuses to discuss, and it's tired of being polite about it.
This might grow tiresome if Woke weren't so otherwise charming. This can be credited in large part to Mr. Morris... but also to the balance Woke strikes between politics and the pure comedy of human interaction.
T. Murph and Blake Anderson deftly push the show's humor as Keef's roommates, Anderson squirming through a hipster caricature of white privilege, and Murph reckoning with with his character's ingrained misogyny.
"Woke" has a serious spine, but the tone is light, even goofy, as a dramedy so caught up in what it thinks are teachable moments that it often doesn't succeed at either.
