Ronny Chieng: International Student

I confess a bias here – and it is a bias not to like this show. Ronny Chieng is one of the reasons I stopped watching the Daily Show – one of the many reasons, it must be said, but still one of them. His material always seemed to be focused on his father's disappointment in him, and he rarely was allowed to break out of that narrow lane. In a way his show 'International Student' doesn't throw him open too much on top of that, since it plays generally on stereotypes of nationality, race, and gender. It does this within a very broad setting of the university campus where Ronny and some others are based.

Supposedly this is based on Chieng's own experiences in Australia, but I hope this is not true since the comedy is lacking in any sort of specific insight or anchor. The broad jokes and scenarios are fun though, and I liked it as I watched it – although at the same time there was not too much else to it beyond this. It is nice to see yet another Australian mainstream show that has a different voice in terms of who makes it and who it features, but the truth is that generic comedy is generic comedy no matter what race is making it. So it is here – and again, I did like it for its broad humor and silliness, but it always feels obvious in what it does, and the laughs are not sharp or unique enough to make a difference.

On the basis of this I'd give any second season a watch for the sake of being an easy and enjoyable thing to watch – but this is hardly high praise. Quite fun if nothing else is on, but not worth seeking it out.