The show begins with the narrator (Garrett Morris) explaining how the black man is viewed. He utilizes various adjectives – sketchy, wild, arrogant, and insensitive – in his description. He tells viewers black men love and provides an example – they give their moms flowers outside of Mother’s Day. Black men laugh, care about animals, cry, and get sad. They have layers and layers of layers.

At Dolly Pitchers, Noah Koles (Echo Kellum) and the crew, Justin Cunningham (Wyatt Fields), Nicky (Nicole Byer), Sherm Jones (Carl Tart), and Anthony (Aaron Jennings). are having a drink. Waiter, Alicia (Alesha Renee) delivers a pitcher of beer to their table. Before leaving, she gives Noah a smooch. Sherm says, “I Known I said don’t bang where we hang but you got her slobbing on the job.” Noah and Kristen have been dating for about four months, he believes she is the one. Nicky tells a story about Noah dressing up as a loving husband every Halloween. He denies being a sap. Alicia is just special. Anthony says, “Every other girl you meet is special or one of a kind or had you at hello.” He adds, “The sex is bomb, she must be breaking that back.”

Nicky has a Tinder date scheduled for later. She hopes the date ends with steamy crotches. Wyatt invites everyone to an anniversary party for his wife. Nicky’s steam crotch comment reminds Wyatt of when he spilled mint tea on his crotch. Noah is going to ask Alicia to marry him. “What” and mumbling can be heard among his friends. Sherm says black men should wait until they are 75 to get married, so they have enough time to sow their “royal oats”.  Wyatt says it isn’t “Coming to America,” he loves his queen and is excited for Noah and Alicia. Noah is sending signals to Alicia as the conservation continues.

Noah and Alicia congratulate each other for great sex. He texts the crew to alert them of his plans to get Alicia’s ring size when she leaves the room. Wyatt responds with a text, “Yes, my bridal brother!” Before Alicia comes back to bed, he tells the crew they just had sex.

At home, Sherm is working out with dumbbells when Anthony enters the room. The texts continue to come. Sherm has been utilizing Anthony’s Netflix to watch “Ainori Love Wagon,” a Japanese reality show. He says the characters are polite even though the show is intense. Anthony isn’t happy with Sherm because his algorithm is confused and shows have Japanese dialogue. Sherm responds with a few Japanese terms while speeding up his dumbbell exercises. Anthony wants him to get his own Netflix account. He soon discovers Sherm drunk his case of kombucha for “research.” He agrees to replace the kombucha when he gets done pumping iron.

 

Nicky is on a Tinder date with Davis (LaMonica Garrett). Davis describes Nicky as funny and intelligent. He tells Nicky about his hedge fund job and contributes the economic recovery on former President Barack Obama.

Noah is trying to measure Alicia’s ring finger without waking her up. As he begins to wrap the measuring tape around her finger, she frightfully wakes up, yells, “Intruder,” and sprays him with mace. She finally calms down when she realizes the intruder is Noah. He tells her about his plans to propose and professes his love for her. She rejects his offer and walks away.

Noah and the crew are at The Roost for drinks. Nicky is ranting about Davis who she says smells like “lavender.” She tells the crew about Davis’s comment about Obama. Wyatt asks how he pronounced “Obama”. She gives a demonstration and questions if Davis could be a “black republican” but doesn’t believe they are in the streets. She will need to have sex with him to determine his political status. When Noah joins the crew, Sherm says he sees darkness in his brightness. Alicia needed space, so they broke up. Anthony is upset about not returning to Dolly Pitchers. Wyatt defends Noah. Sherm agrees with Anthony because Dolly Pitchers serves free hotdogs on Wednesday night. Nicky says, “Breakup Noah is back.” He admits to overreacting to breakups in the past, but he has changed. Sherm believes Noah will beg Alicia to take him back. Nicky describes him as “soft as baby butt.” While they are talking about Noah’s breakup, the lights go out.

Anthony sits on the sofa working on his computer when Sherm walks in. He asks him to turn down the music, so he can take a nap. Sherm is not happy about Anthony’s decision to buy one-ply toilet paper. He likes the toilet paper with the bear taking a dump in the woods. Anthony doesn’t think Sherm would mind saving money since he is unemployed.

Noah is watching the 7-day forecast. Wyatt calls to check in on him. Noah listens to Brittany Spears and Bon Jovi when he is sad. While Wyatt read titles for his anniversary party, Noah imagines the weatherwoman is Alicia.

As Noah takes a leisure walk, he spots a woman sitting on a bench eating a sub. He briefly imagines the woman is Alicia. While working out in a gym, he imagines Alicia is working out across the room. When he comes back to reality, it is not Alicia, but a man with his right fist up in the air. He finally gives in when he imagines her as an air dancer. Tears fall from his eyes as he sends her a text “I miss you.”

Wyatt’s and Kristen’s anniversary party is underway. Wyatt pays tribute to his wife, Kristen (Maya Lynne Robinson). Noah refuses Kristen’s offer to introduce him to her single female friends. After a bit of ragging from Anthony, he accepts her offer. He warns the crew that a “torrential flirt” is about to go down. Anthony asks Nicky if Davis is an elephant or donkey when Sherm joins them. Anthony scolds him for sitting his glass on the table, not the coaster. He calls Sherm “bald” and in turn, he says Anthony looks like a country club tenant. Nicky asks if they are okay. They are great but split off in different directions.

Noah goes home with Kristen’s friend, Kim (Gabrielle Lane). They are making out in front of her apartment when he receives an incoming text from Alicia. He takes off running, leaving Kim alone and in shock.

Noah arrives at a bar to have drinks with the crew. Wyatt asks about his date with Kim. He says the night was great. Sherm asks if he put some miles on the mattress. He responds, “A gentleman does not kiss and tell.” He is going to meet Kim again in a week. Kristen told Wyatt Kim is going out of town next week. He changes his story to two weeks and adds an Italian dinner. Again, Wyatt says Kim is gluten-free. Anthony says he smells a lie pie. Nicky figures out that Noah was with Alicia, not Kim. He admits to lying. He wants his relationship with Alicia to work because he loves her. The bartender rips off his shirt and the music blares when Noah asks the crew to back off and let him drink in peace.

Sherm is watching TV when Anthony intrudes to demand his kombucha. He asks, “Who you think you talking to.” As he gets off the sofa, Anthony turns to walk away and says, “Typical.” Sherm says “typical” is like buying one-ply toilet paper. Anthony swings his arms upward, accidentally hitting Sherm in the face. They have a slapping match. Sherm denies his face hurts and quit because his hand hurts because he slapped him so hard. He feels Anthony looks down on him because he didn’t go to college.  Sherm admits to getting a 1580 SAT score. His nickname is high school was “bubble,” which he contributes to his dope ass test-taking skills and big butt.

Anthony feels Sherm does stuff just to provoke him. He likes sweaters and his white-collar job. Sherm denies intentionally provoking him. Anthony didn’t intentionally make Sherm feel belittled. They make up and hug.

Davis gives Nicky a massage. While scanning his home, she spots a stack of books by Republican Ben Carson, MD, decorative elephants, and a photo of Davis with former President George Bush. She anxiously asks if he is a republican. He responds, “Yes, it that a problem.” She says you seem so normal. He doesn’t care that she is a democrat. She agrees to continue where they left off. She is enjoying the massage until a question comes to mind. She doesn’t like his opinion of reproductive rights and decides to leave.

Noah and Alicia meet for sex. She doesn’t mind if he is intimate with other women. They kiss.

The crew is having drinks. Noah suggests something new like a wine bar. Wyatt suggests they go back to Dolly Pitchers since Noah and Alicia are back together. Noah says “Nah.” Anthony asks what happened. He has a flashback of his and Alicia’s last meeting. He wants to be himself. The marriage proposal was too early, but his mother passed away when he was 12. His father refused to open up after his mother’s death. He may have watched too many romance comedies, but he is just a boy who doesn’t want to have sex with other women. He tells the crew they split and admits to being soft as a baby’s butt.

The narrator says they discovered more about each other and wine. He asks a few questions about the crew as the episode comes to an end.

Grand Crew Review

The show progressed too quickly, making it impossible to decipher what was going on without pressing “rewind.” Political correctness was to be expected since the show was aired on NBC. On a subconscious level, the acting seemed forced, for lack of better words, fake. The connection between the characters is spot-on, which is crucial for a character-driven comedy like this. The show touches on various personal issues young adults face daily. This is the first episode, so there is room for improvement.

The narrator appears to be targeting the white audience. It is shallow to think white people define black men as a whole without any individualism. The audience deserves a 6.

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