‘The Neighborhood’ Season 1, Episode 1 ‘Pilot’ Recap: Moving In

No matter who you are or where you go, trying to fit in is never easy. Although it may be a sad reality, CBS has turned the concept into a new sitcom The Neighborhood. Program creator Jim Reynolds invited a few familiar faces of the comedy realm such as Max Greenfield and Cedric the Entertainer to bring his comedic series to life.

The Neighborhood is a simple sitcom that starts off with the Johnson family from the Midwest moving into a Los Angeles suburb. Dave Johnson (Max Greenfield), his wife Gemma (Beth Behrs) and their son Grover (Hank Greenspan) settle in their new home next door to the Butler family. While the rest of the Butler family household see nothing suspicious about the Johnsons, Calvin Butler (Cedric the Entertainer) still has reservations over them being a white family in a predominantly black neighborhood.

Settling down

It’s a good day in suburban L.A. The Johnsons move into their new home, where son Grover innocently says aloud the subtly racist reservations his grandmother told him about them moving there. His father Dave and mother Gemma have quite a hard time explaining to their son how not to say racist things but instead worsens it when Grover begins to point out the “diversity” around the neighborhood constantly.

In just so happens that in the day of the move, the Butlers were hosting their outdoor barbecue. Calvin is not too happy about having white neighbors. Dave, as a professional conflict mediator, comes off too strong with his friendly introductions. Calvin interprets it as him being a closet racist.

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Get Grilled

Calvin’s wife Tine (Tichina Arnold) invites the Johnsons to their barbecue, which her husband wasn’t quite on board with. Tina, however, eagerly welcomes them. She befriends Gemma almost instantly. Calvin’s sons Malcolm (Sheaun McKinney) and Marty (Marcel Spears) board the welcome-to-the-neighborhood train as well, with Marty warning Dave and Gemma that their dad won’t probably warm up to them.

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At the living room, Calvin clears things up with Dave that his kindness is a little odd and awkward. Dave makes it clear that it wasn’t a racism thing and he was definitely just trying too hard to befriend him. They end things with an awkward hug before the Johnsons go home.

‘The Neighborhood: Pilot’ Season 1 Premiere Overall Verdict

You’re in for a laugh if you get the cultural humor. The series actually has a serious subliminal topic to talk about racism but has somehow been able to incorporate it to humor. It does, however, seem like it tries too hard to be funny, perhaps even being a bit too cliché. It’s your typical feel-good comedy series, but it’s the writing and the hilarious cast that rakes in the series’ appeal. As a sitcom, it most likely won’t follow a solid storyline and will center on the interaction between characters. So when you’re in the mood for something funny, keep strolling down The Neighborhood.

The Neighborhood continues next Monday, October 8th, with “Welcome to the Repipe” at 8/7c on CBS.