The Break with Michelle Wolf is an American television variety show starring Michelle Wolf that premiered on May 27, 2018, on Netflix. The series is executive produced by Wolf, Dan Powell, Christine Nangle, and Daniel Bodansky. Powell and Nangle also act as showrunners for the series. On August 17, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had canceled the series.
| The Break with Michelle Wolf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Variety show |
| Directed by | André Allen |
| Presented by | Michelle Wolf |
| Starring | DJ Jer-Z |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Running time | 23–30 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | May 27 – July 29, 2018 |
Premise
editThe Break with Michelle Wolf was designed to "take a break from the seriousness of late-night comedy" and "instead of making the news fun, she’ll make fun of everything and everybody. There will be no preaching or political agenda — unless it’s funny."[1]
Production
editOn February 12, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order consisting of ten episodes and expected the show to begin airing sometime in late 2018. The series was set to star Michelle Wolf who also executive produces alongside Dan Powell, Christine Nangle, and Daniel Bodansky. Powell and Nangle were also expected to act as showrunners for the series. Wolf's production company Cats in Pants was expected to produce the series as well.[1][2][3][4]
Cancellation
editOn April 11, 2018, it was announced that the show had been titled The Break with Michelle Wolf and that it would premiere on May 27, 2018.[5] On August 17, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had declined to renew the series, reportedly due to low viewership, effectively canceling it.[6]
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Featured guest | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Strong Female Lead" | Amber Ruffin | May 27, 2018 |
| 2 | "Be Honest" | Neal Brennan | June 3, 2018 |
| 3 | "Bad Opinions" | Tim Cappello | June 10, 2018 |
| 4 | "Hate It or Love It" | Hannibal Buress | June 17, 2018 |
| 5 | "Entertainment Explosion!" | N/A | June 24, 2018 |
| 6 | "Perfect Sports" | Nick Kroll | July 1, 2018 |
| 7 | "How Dare You!?" | Seth Meyers | July 8, 2018 |
| 8 | "Sincere and Angry" | N/A | July 15, 2018 |
| 9 | "I Pledge Allegiance" | N/A | July 22, 2018 |
| 10 | "Wet Boys" | N/A | July 29, 2018 |
Release
editOn April 28, 2018, the first trailer for the series was released following Wolf's hosting stint at the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner.[7] On May 18, 2018, a second trailer was released.[8] About a week later, a clip from the first episode was released.[9]
Reception
editThe series was met with a positive response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 77% approval rating with an average rating of 8 out of 10 based on 13 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Break With Michelle Wolf has room for improvement, but this late-night show is a welcome break from the norm."[10]
Early critical reviews of the series premiere were largely positive. In a positive review, The Globe and Mail's John Doyle offered the series commendation saying, "This is more laid-back, low-key, absurdist feminist humour. It's wickedly entertaining, coming out of left field into a very crowded arena."[11] In another favorable assessment, The Guardian's Charles Bramesco said, "Wolf's pilot episode prophesies a brief period of growing pains in pursuit of an individual identity, and grand dividends once it's complete."[12] In an additional approving analysis, Variety's Caroline Framke said, "Whether she’s tearing down a politician, scoffing at a sexist institution, or telling her audience it deserves a break (pun intended) before speeding away on a tricycle, Wolf is always grinning with delight that she gets to do it all on her own weird terms. Not every joke has to land for the show to be even half as much fun as Wolf is clearly having."[13] In a more negative critique, Ken Tucker of Yahoo! TV was less enthusiastic about the series' premiere episode saying, "It wasn't a very auspicious debut; Wolf's standup comedy was OK but not hilarious, and her taped segments demonstrated a tendency to repeat the same joke over and over."[14]
Summarizing his opinion of the series as a whole, Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly published a review of the series before the premiere of its season finale where he gave it a grade of "B+" and praised it saying, "Jokes won’t fix everything. But whoever said comedy had to do anything? At its best, Wolf’s show has been an earnest plea to keep laughing. It’s a break from bleak times, like how a breath of fresh air is a nice break from drowning."[15]
References
edit- ^ a b Petski, Denise (February 12, 2018). "'Daily Show' Writer Michelle Wolf Lands Netflix Talk Show". Deadline. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ Rose, Lacey (February 12, 2018). "'The Daily Show's' Michelle Wolf Lands Her Own Netflix Late-Night Show (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (February 12, 2018). "'Daily Show' Contributor Michelle Wolf Lands Netflix Late-Night Series". Variety. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ McHenry, Jackson (February 12, 2018). "The Daily Show's Michelle Wolf Is Getting a Netflix Talk Show". Vulture. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ Carras, Christi (April 11, 2018). "TV News Roundup: Wayne Brady Among Four to Join 'Colony' Season 3". Variety. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 17, 2018). "'The Break With Michelle Wolf' & 'The Joel McHale Show' Canceled By Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
- ^ de Moraes, Lisa (April 28, 2018). "Michelle Wolf Set For Netflix Talk Show After Hosting Donald Trump-less Correspondents Dinner". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
- ^ de Moraes, Lisa (May 18, 2018). "Michelle Wolf's Reminds "We're All Gonna Die" In Netflix Series 'The Break'". Deadline. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
- ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (May 24, 2018). "'The Break With Michelle Wolf' Spoofs "Strong Female Leads" In Sketch For New Netflix Talk Show". Deadline. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ "The Break with Michelle Wolf: Season 1 - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ Doyle, John (May 28, 2018). "Michelle Wolf's new comedy show on Netflix is low-key, absurdist – and wickedly entertaining". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ Bramesco, Charles (May 28, 2018). "Can Michelle Wolf's Netflix show shake up the late night comedy scene?". The Guardian. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ Framke, Caroline (June 11, 2018). "TV Review: 'The Break With Michelle Wolf' on Netflix". Variety. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (May 29, 2018). "Why is Fox News attacking Michelle Wolf's new Netflix show?". Yahoo!. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ Franich, Darren (July 30, 2018). "Michelle Wolf's 'The Break' is an essential new TV comedy, and we need more of it: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 30, 2018.