MASTER OF NONE: Witty, Intimate, Funny – Just Perfect

Although Master of None has basked in laudatory reviews since its premiere in 2015, many viewers still pass over this title with indifference or ignorance. It is surprising, for it deserves more attention than it has received thus far. To say that Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang made a good series is to reveal only the tip of the iceberg. The cheerful, slight comedian, an actor of Indian descent, together with the producer of the famous series Parks and Recreation, redefine the American sitcom, taking the viewer on a meandering journey through New York City — the city of millennials, good food, and rapid dating.

Ultimately, however, we receive a witty, warm, and optimistic series about the beauty and apparent simplicity of ordinary things.

Dev, played by Ansari himself, is the titular Master of None. A thirty-year-old in a large city, without a meticulous life plan, he confronts problems that surely face thousands of his peers. Work, loneliness, dating, family, the persistent search for closeness. In the first season, the creators examined interpersonal relationships with insight. They looked into Dev’s bedroom, exposing his emotional life and his little and great loves. With sensitivity and intimacy, they described seemingly banal situations, such as a conversation with a friend or a morning with a girlfriend.

In the next season, satire of the ordinary grey reality becomes more complex. Dramatic threads intertwine increasingly confidently with comedic ones, yet lose nothing of the freshness and charming naivety of the presented world. The second season of Master of None is a nod towards diversity in the broad sense. Aziz Ansari devotes time to sexual minorities, telling the story of a lesbian friend; he confronts religious dogmas by meeting relatives who practice Islam.

In the episode New York, I Love You, he also gives voice to ordinary city dwellers.

Following various unrelated New Yorkers — a deaf-mute woman, a black taxi driver, a loyal hotel doorman — the series creators assemble a fascinating, colourful, and amusing mosaic of multiculturalism and otherness. This also harmonises well with the romantic storyline, which could not be absent in this series.

The greatest virtue of the series is its loud celebration of ordinary life. Simple things, yet not devoid of depth. Master of None describes the life of a man in a dynamic, vibrant metropolis. The series itself, however, moves at a slightly slowed pace imposed by its absent-minded protagonist. Each episode portrays fully natural situations: moments of doubt and reflection, the slow eating of lunch, spontaneous strolls that lead the series in always unpredictable directions.

Ansari and Yang’s work thus charms with disarming honesty and intimacy in depicting reality. Aziz Ansari crafts the plot with the understanding and sensitivity of a person who has experienced everything he seeks to portray.

The man does not hide that many plots and ideas were drawn from his own biography. The series thereby becomes more personal, inseparably linked to Ansari, who attempts to comment on the surrounding world in his way — always ensuring a story’s point.

As a result, Dev also becomes a hero with whom it is easy to identify. The authenticity, realism, and apparent simplicity of Master of None subtly combine with warmth, discreet naivety, and humour whose essence is a distance from the world and cheerful irony.

All these attributes of the production ensure that each episode leaves not only positive vibrations but also envelops the viewer in pleasant nostalgia.

A fascinating concept and masterful script are, however, not the only hallmarks of the series. Watching even one episode makes it clear that it is a masterpiece also from a production standpoint. The creators play freely with references and stylisation, especially in the second season. Its very first episode is presented in black and white, openly referencing classic Italian cinema. The creators clearly emphasise inspirations from the works of Federico Fellini and Vittorio De Sica.

Italian accents, of which there are many in the second season, are also present in the varied soundtrack that works as well as the polished cinematography or daring play with light. All the mechanisms mentioned combine into a series that excels both formally and stylistically.

Ansari is in no hurry to continue. As he states in interviews, he needs a long break and new experiences to realise next season.

I will not hide that three brilliant seasons have only increased my appetite for further stories of Dev. This is because one has the impression that they are inexhaustible.

Master of None is a rare title that with similar deftness and sensitivity transforms banal depiction of reality into a complex, witty, and intimate tale about the beauty of seemingly insignificant and unnoticed things. And for that alone, the creators of the series deserve the highest acclaim.