Master of None

Master of None
Season One Intertitle
Genre	Comedy-drama
Created by	Aziz Ansari Alan Yang
Starring	Aziz Ansari Noël Wells Eric Wareheim Kelvin Yu Lena Waithe
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Aziz Ansari Alan Yang Michael Schur Dave Becky David Miner
Location(s)	New York City
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	26-31 minutes
Production company(s)	Alan Yang Pictures Oh Brudder Productions 3 Arts Entertainment Fremulon Universal Television
Distributor	Netflix
Release
Original network	Netflix
Picture format	Anamorphic
Audio format	Dolby Digital 5.1 with Descriptive Video Service track
Original release	November 6, 2015 (2015-11-06)

Master of None is an American comedy-drama television series, which was released for streaming on November 6, 2015 on Netflix.^[1] The series was created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, and stars Ansari in the lead role of Dev, a 30-year-old actor who attempts to make his way through life in New York City. The first season consists of 10 episodes.^[2][3] The show's title alludes to the figure of speech, "Jack of all trades, master of none"^[4] and was originally suggested by Ansari.^[5] The series later incorporated a song of the same name by Beach House.^[6][7] Ansari says it took months to come up with the show's title and he and Yang did not ultimately agree on it until all of the episodes were completed.^[8]

The show was renewed for a second season in February 2016, scheduled to premiere sometime in 2017.^[9]

Cast

• Aziz Ansari as Dev Shah, a commercial actor whose best-known work was a Go-Gurt commercial.^[10][11]
• Noël Wells as Rachel, Dev's primary romantic interest. Rachel works as a music publicist.^{[12][13][14][15]}
• Eric Wareheim as Arnold Baumheiser, Dev's friend who Ansari describes as the "token white friend". Wareheim notes his character's friendship is based on his real-life friendship with Ansari as they both enjoy eating.^[13][14][16]
• Kelvin Yu as Brian Cheng, Dev's friend who is the son of Taiwanese immigrants.^[13][16][17] An interview with Yu in Vulture.com noted that Brian represented the "onscreen version of co-creator Alan Yang, Dev’s chill, super-good-looking friend" and that he was a "hottie".^[18]
• Lena Waithe as Denise, Dev's friend, who is a lesbian.^[13][16] In an Entertainment Weekly interview, Waithe said that her character wasn't originally intended to be African-American or gay but that Ansari wanted Denise's personality to reflect Waithe's own, so they rewrote her part.^[14]

Also making recurring appearances in the series are Todd Barry, who plays a movie director named Todd,^[19] Colin Salmon, who plays a fictionalized version of himself,^[20] H. Jon Benjamin as Benjamin, an acting colleague on the film The Sickening, and Ansari's real-life parents Shoukath and Fatima, who play Dev's parents.^[21][22] There have been guest appearances by Claire Danes and Noah Emmerich.^[8]

Episodes

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 100%, based on 53 reviews, with an average score of 8.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Exceptionally executed with charm, humor, and heart, Master of None is a refreshingly offbeat take on a familiar premise."^[25] On Metacritic, the series holds a score of 91 out of 100, based on 31 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[26] James Poinewozik of The New York Times called it "the year's best comedy straight out of the gate" and a "mature rom-com."^[27] IGN's Matt Fowler gave the entire first season an 8.8 out of 10, saying "by the second episode it takes flight and offers up a very funny, unique take on food, dating, relationships, etc (the usual suspects). Ansari is a smart and engaging presence and his perspective on things lends itself very well to this type of single-camera comedy. And his supporting cast, particularly Wells, is on point. A few episodes may have fizzled out right at the finish...but there's no denying Master of None's success overall."^[28] James Dempsey of Newstalk described the show as "like a transatlantic cousin of Ricky Gervais’ Extras, another story of an actor navigating show business and his personal life. But whereas that show relied heavily on stunt cameos of Hollywood actors playing pantomime versions of themselves – along with painfully blunt awkwardness that attempts to wring every possible laugh out of increasingly cringe comedy – Master of None is content and confident to let the viewer warm to it entirely on its terms. And it's all the better for it."^[29]

Top ten lists

Master of None was included on many Best TV Shows of 2015 lists.^[30] Jaime Lutz from TimeOut New York has called it the best TV show of 2015. In addition, it was awarded the runner-up position by Matthew Gilbert from Boston Globe, Mark Peikert from The Wrap, and Paste magazine. Master of None was also ranked as one of the top 10 shows of the year by many publications, including Entertainment Weekly, IGN, the Washington Post, Complex magazine, TV Guide, Time magazine, Film School Rejects, People magazine, Vogue, Variety, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Accolades

References

External links

• Master of None at the Internet Movie Database

Aziz Ansari Television Created and starred in Human Giant (2007–2008) Master of None (2015–present) Starred in Parks and Recreation (as Tom Haverford, 2009–2015) Bob's Burgers (as Darryl, 2012–present) Hosted 2010 MTV Movie Awards Stand-up specials Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening (2010) Dangerously Delicious (2012) Buried Alive (2013) Live at Madison Square Garden (2015) Books Modern Romance: An Investigation (2015) Related articles Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre Commons: Aziz Ansari