A reunion of Nick Frost and Simon Pegg—stars of the beloved comedy hybrids “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” and “The World’s End”—should produce abundant joy, especially given the promising concept of Amazon’s “Truth Seekers” to once again blend humor with another genre. And yet this 8-episode comedy is a shocking misfire, a deadly dull affair that feels much longer than even its 4-hour total runtime and produces an unbelievably small number of actual laughs and thrills. It’s a show that pushes so hard into its supernatural genre that it almost actively avoids actual comedy, but there’s nothing there to replace it. It’s understandable and even admirable to play the supernatural elements of a show like this straight instead of winking at the camera—and the films Frost/Pegg made for Edgar Wright have a similar strength in that they take their genre structure as seriously as their comedy—but it leads to a shockingly boring show here. The truth is what Wright does in those films with Frost and Pegg is much harder than it looks. Imagine a dull episode of “Ghost Adventures” with a little more British deadpan wit.
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Created by Frost, Pegg, James Serafinowicz, and Nat Saunders (with each episode directed by Jim Field Smith), “Truth Seekers” is the story of a lonely average guy named Gus (Frost), who works for a company called Smile, one of the U.K.’s fastest-growing broadband companies. His day job allows him access to equipment that he uses for his side hustle, hosting a YouTube show about the supernatural called “Truth Seeker.” Gus lives with his irascible father (Malcolm McDowell), and complains about pretty much everything to his boss Dave (Pegg), who regularly praises Gus as one of the key employees in the Smile vision.
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In the premiere, Gus gets a new work partner named Elton (Samson Kayo), and everything changes. Elton (last name John, believe it or not) seems to have a unique supernatural energy of his own that quickly elevates Gus’ online profile. For example, Gus listens to a frequency that has been broadcasting the same number repeatedly, a true phenomenon known as “numbers stations,” which have been discovered all across the world since World War I. The repeating “1” that Gus has been jamming to between jobs suddenly adds a ‘5’ after Elton says that number. Gus senses that there’s something unusual about Elton, and he ropes him into his ghost-hunting adventures, which are soon joined by a third member named Astrid (Emma D’Arcy), who also has a connection to the other side that couldn’t possibly be explained without spoilers, and Elton’s agoraphobic sister Helen (Susan Wokoma) inevitably joins in the fun. Even dear old dad gets involved in his own way in this team of viral ghostbusters.
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Before you know it, Gus, Elton, and Astrid are full-blown hunters of the supernatural. Even in the premiere, Gus and Elton go to fix broadband at an old lady’s house and discover the family dog may have never fully crossed over. For much of the season, “Truth Seekers” generally alternates a new case each episode with a larger plot about a prominent figure in the supernatural community named Dr. Peter Toynbee (Julian Barratt), but some of the individual cases start to tie into the larger story, making “Truth Seekers” feel somewhat like a 4-hour movie. More than just an expert on things that go bump in the night, Dr. Toynbee turns out to be closer to a cult leader, pushing his followers into increasingly dangerous situations as he mucks about with powers no mortal should have. Well, that and nanobots.
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Nanobots, numbers stations, a few “They Live” references, even the name Toynbee (a reference to the Toynbee tiles mystery)—it all starts to feel like a Cracked list of viral stories about unexplained mysteries come to life. The problem is that what should be the foundation of this show feels about as shallow as a listicle. None of what happens in “Truth Seekers” has any depth or power, and late-season twists about Elton’s background feel cheap and unearned. It’s not just that “Truth Seekers” takes its supernatural elements so seriously that the writers forgot to write jokes, they forgot to write an engaging horror show too. It’s a show that seems content in the tonal middle—not funny but not scary or thrilling either. It just kind of sits there, almost refusing to go too broad into either of its genres. Comparing it to Edgar Wright’s work may seem unfair, but “Shaun of the Dead” pushed hard into both horror and comedy, but the operating principle here seemed to be to do just a little bit of both, and that just doesn’t work.
It doesn’t help that the show isn’t really the Frost/Pegg reunion that fans may be expecting. For the bulk of the season, Pegg has one scene per episode, and it usually feels obligatory and unfunny. He gets involved more as the season goes on, for the better, and, surprisingly, the great Kelly Macdonald shows up in a small role mid-season, seeming to have wandered on set from a much better show. From her first appearance, she’s actually doing something, playing an eccentric character instead of the straight-faced work from the general ensemble. Frost clearly didn’t want to play Gus as a goofy loser, but he didn’t replace that approach with anything. Gus and Elton are dull, which is a fatal flaw in a show in which they’re supposed to drive the action. Ghosts and exorcisms are neat, but no one cares if the ghostbusters aren’t interesting too.
It’s almost frustrating that “Truth Seekers” ends with more potential than where it begins. The season’s revelations about its characters actually take it to a place where a second installment could work. Gus and Elton end the season with more answers about their past, and Pegg and Macdonald seem primed for larger roles. Narratively, the show feels ready to finally get out of neutral for a stronger sophomore year. Hopefully, they remember to write some jokes next season. [C-]
“Truth Seekers” premieres on Amazon Prime on October 30.
