This article contains spoilers.
If there is one thing actor, producer and writer Dan Levy can do well, it is creating some of the most compelling family comedies you have ever seen. As a long-time fan of Levy’s show “Schitt’s Creek”, I was ecstatic to hear he had created a new Netflix show called “Big Mistakes.”
Similar to “Schitt’s Creek,” this show follows the Dardanos, a dysfunctional family, as they navigate their tense, yet loving relationship through a mayoral election, engagements and sibling strife. But things very quickly go off the rails when the two oldest siblings (of three) become entangled with organized crime.
After an unintentional robbery goes awry, Nicky (Dan Levy), who is a pastor and Morgan (Taylor Ortega) must make amends with the crime group they stole from. Little do they know, this criminal organization goes well beyond their small town in New Jersey.
“Big Mistakes” blends the high risk of organized crime with ridiculous, comedic and sometimes sad aspects of each character’s relationship with each other. While Nicky and Morgan are trying to return the necklace that they stole, getting involved in various levels of a drug cartel and nearly dying on a yacht, they frequently lose focus on other aspects and people in their lives. Nicky works to balance his identity as a gay man with the responsibilities of leading a small-town church. Morgan continuously fights with her fiancé and struggles with her frequently delinquent personality despite being an elementary school teacher. All of this is going on while their mother (Laurie Metcalf) is trying to maintain a good image of their family to win a mayoral election against a billionaire.
With complex, well-developed characters put into absurd situations, “Big Mistakes” has a bit more substance than your typical comedy but still creates an engaging world to escape to. And while the organized crime ring and its characters are rather predictable, following many of the same tropes from other crime shows, the cliffhanger ending had my jaw on the floor. What was already a fun story, suddenly became much more complex and intriguing.
Light-hearted enough to make me chuckle, suspenseful enough to make me come back for more, “Big Mistakes” is simply put, an incredible show. In eight short episodes, I was thrust into the lives of Nicky and Morgan as they mistakenly bumbled their way deeper and deeper into the world of organized crime and drug cartels. And after the sudden twist ending and cliffhanger, I can only wait with bated breath for Netflix to announce Season 2.