BrainDead Series Review

BrainDead (2016)

Season 1 - 13 episodes (2016)
Rent BrainDead on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Michelle King, Robert King
Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Danny Pino, Aaron Tveit, Tony Shalhoub, Nikki M. James, Johnny Ray Gill
Rated: TV-14
Watch the trailer

Plot
A government employee discovers that the cause of the tensions between the two political parties is a race of extraterrestrial insects eating the brains of the politicians.

Verdict
I love the premise that the reason political tensions are so high is due to alien bugs. That leads to contention and aggression, amplifying the worst human qualities and political gridlock. Despite that, this season stretches the premise with no subplots to effectively pad the runtime. There's a romance between political adversaries that exists for the comedy because the relationship isn't sufficiently developed. Instead of exploring politics, it trivializes the sides as being for or against war.  This is a setup without an effective punch line.
It depends.

Review
The show planned for a four season arc with the bugs subsequently invading Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood. The series was canceled after the first season.

It's a great premise. The problem with Washington is that bugs are literally eating politician's brains. Laurel (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is the outsider. She's a documentary film maker that needs a job and begins working for her U.S. Senator brother Luke Healy (Danny Pino). A government shut down and an extra terrestrial meteor containing bugs sent to Washington leads to a widespread infection.

E2: Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Laurel Healy

With each politician infected, they become contentious and aggressive. That only amplifies the party line. It's a great satire of politics. The only way there could be so much discord is if people are deranged and bugs are eating their brains. Somehow Laurel and Luke are still not infected by episode three, though that's a bit of plot armor.

Laurel befriends Rochelle (Nikki M. James) and Dr. Bob (Johnny Ray Gill). They learn that the infected lack balance and suffer deafness. Despite some amount of proof, they have difficulty getting anyone to believe their story. They eventually theorize that drinking and dancing can fight off the bugs. I don't quite buy it, but this show is more interested in the premise than the science.

E8: Nikki M. James, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Johnny Ray Gill play Rochelle, Laurel, Dr. Bob

Episode five captures the current state of politics. Everyone argues over what to name a kiosk, arguing just to hear themselves speak.

Rochelle and Dr. Bob figure out how to communicate with the infected, through that they upend a Senate intelligence committee vote and in turn free Laurel who was detained by the FBI. By episode eight they capture an infected who attacked Rochelle. They get answers, but who would believe it? The episode also features a Michael Moore cameo. It's wild, and used to great comedic effect to create more turmoil in Laurel and Gareth's (Aaron Tveit) burgeoning relationship. The hurdle is already great as they have to bridge the political divide as they have different values. The series doesn't develop it well, using it more to bolster the plot and for comedy. It's contrived.

E6: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Tveit play Laurel Healy, Gareth Ritter

The larger conflict that emerges pits Luke against the staunchly conservative Red Wheatus (Tony Shalhoub) who, under the control of a bug, wants a war in Syria to destabilize the U.S. and pave the way for the alien bugs. Red manufactures evidence to bolster his claim.

The second half of this season gets lost in the premise. We see political infighting that goes nowhere. Maybe that's the point, but the plot doesn't progress. The characters know the bugs exist, but they can't find any allies yet they most also try to save the world from the republicans.

By the end of the season the bugs are seemingly defeated. I assume the next season would have resurrected them in some way or revealed that one of them survived. Laurel, Rochelle, and Dr. Bob determine that shame weakens the bugs and that provides them a window to attack. The final episode also provides the reveal of Dr. Bob's employer, but that's a reveal that seems too late. By that point it doesn't matter.

I like the premise, but I wish this was deeper than coming back to how divided political parties are. That joke only travels so far. I expected this season to roast politics more, pointing out several problems and even having both sides reject solutions due to the divide. Dr. Bob seems like a conspiracy nut that's actually right for once. That character could have had more development. This season is a great idea that never fully develops.