Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Speechless’

Minnie Driver has been a part of great projects for years now, and it’s about time the world take notice. Whether we go back to her winning our hearts in Good Will Hunting or take a peek at her most recent comedy, About A Boy, she’s always contributing great work to solid projects no matter the medium. Her latest work on ABC’s Speechless is no different, and we’re here to fill you in on the show’s start. 

A Guide to Our Rating System

Opening Shot: The opening of a pilot can set a mood for the entire show (think Six Feet Under); thus, we examine the first shot of each pilot.
The Gist: The “who, what, where, when, why?” of the pilot.
Our Take: What did we think? Are we desperate for more or desperate to get that hour back?
Sex and Skin: That’s all you care about anyway, right? We let you know how quickly the show gets down and dirty.
Parting Shot: Where does the pilot leave us? Hanging off a cliff, or running for the hills?
Sleeper Star: Basically, someone in the cast who is not the top-billed star who shows great promise.
Most Pilot-y Line: Pilots have a lot of work to do: world building, character establishing, and stakes raising. Sometimes that results in some pretty clunky dialogue.
Our Call: We’ll let you know if you should, ahem, Stream It or Skip It.

SPEECHLESS

Opening Shot: Maya (Minnie Driver) loads her family into their big green van for another day at school and wagers that she can have them there in less than three minutes.

The Gist: The Dimeo family is made up of 5 people: Maya (Driver), the scrappiest of matriarchs, quirky and relaxed dad Jimmy (John Ross Bowie), and their three children, the sensible and serious Ray, spunky Dylan, and their eldest, J.J., who bound to a wheelchair due to his cerebral palsy. Maya has once again moved the family to a new town with a school she thinks will be able to give J.J. the best sense of normalcy, but chaos ensues when the other children (particularly Ray) begin to feel a little neglected and attempt to resist the change at hand.

Our Take: This show surprised us by a long shot – it may be one of the best comedies on the fall slate. Anchored by Driver, the show’s fearless leader, Speechless conquers issues that many shows shy away from. Despite his disability, J.J. (Micah Fowler) is allowed to have just as much fun as the rest of the children – he’s sarcastic and mischievous, and doesn’t hold back how he’s feeling. The entire cast balances each other out in a series of wonderful ways – Jimmy’s mellow, grounded perspective helps hone in Maya’s zany, passionate fighting, while Ray seems to keep the entire family in check.

The most exciting thing about this show is that it doesn’t get lazy; there are plenty of storylines beyond those of the central Dimeos. Whether we’re watching Dylan’s aspiring track career, Ray’s failed attempts at love, or Jimmy’s honest sense of the world around him, we find a home with the characters we’re seeing on screen. Creator Scott Silvieri of Friends fame certainly knows how to build a world and the characters in it –  and we owe him for it.

Sex and Skin: You’ve come to the wrong place if that’s what you’re looking for.

Parting Shot: The Dimeos take turns on the fair rides, screaming their heads off as they celebrate J.J.’s announcement to run for class president.

Sleeper Star: The youngest of the Dimeos, Dylan (Kyla Kennedy) is spunky and honest to a fault; she wants to be a track star, and when her coach continually compliments runners whose times are far less superior to hers, she grows frustrated and tells her peers openly that their times are slow. There are sure to be more moments like these from Dylan over the course of the show as she navigates her life as the youngest child and only girl in the family.

Most Pilot-y Line: “I get to be right and you get to be lazy, those are our favorite things!” The scene between Ray and his father is the closest the pilot gets to clunky dialogue, but for the most part, the entirety of this installment comes across fairly genuine and smooth.

Our Call: Stream it! ABC’s knack for understanding family comedy shines brighter than ever here; between the sharp jokes, silly situations, and realistic struggles, the show knows itself well and doesn’t shy away from topics that other shows are prone to mishandling. Full of humor, heart, and honesty, this might be one of the best comedies on network television this fall – so don’t miss it.

[Watch the pilot for Speechless on ABC or Hulu]

Jade Budowski is an indecisive sometimes-writer with a knack for ruining punchlines and harboring dad-aged celebrity crushes. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.