It’s hard to review a show like I Think You Should Leave. Not only is the Netflix comedy a series of disconnected sketches, but half the fun of the sketches is not knowing what the heck you’re watching when they begin. The first season of I Think You Should Leave – the brainchild of SNL alum Tim Robinson – carved out its own place on the internet where bits like T.C. Tuggers and mudpies only got funnier the more they were shared, and of course the now-iconic “hot dog sketch” was downright prophetic. So how do Robinson and Co. confront the pressure of living up to expectations with I Think You Should Leave Season 2? By continuing to do their own thing, which results in some of the funniest television I’ve seen in years.
The best compliment I can pay I Think You Should Leave Season 2 is that it doesn’t feel like a Season 2. This is not the same crew trying to recapture the magic of what made their first season so great. Instead, it feels like a Volume 2 – it’s simply more original, insane comedy sketches that are uproarously funny. Save for one exception, none of these sketches try to revisit territory covered in the first season, and the one that does – while admirable and understandable – doesn’t quite hit the mark the same way its predecessor did.
Robinson’s specific brand of humor that made Season 1 such a treat is present throughout these six new episodes, which are populated by absolute fools who are hilariously obstinate in their wrongness. I think part of what makes Robinson’s characters endearing is that while many of them are idiots, they care deeply about their wrongheaded beliefs. The passion with which they are so clearly being insane makes for great comedic fodder, and it’s a testament to Robinson’s modulation that he never comes off as grating or meanspirited. The joke is almost always on him.
I really don’t know what else to say other than please watch I Think You Should Leave Season 2. I don’t want to spoil any of the terrific cameos or ridiculous premises or the one sketch that had me laughing so hard I had to pause my TV and walk away so I could catch my breath. I want you to have the same experience of discovery that I had. If you enjoyed the first season you’ll love this second one, and just as with those first six episodes, these have tremendous rewatchability and many grow even funnier the more you watch them.
Here’s hoping Netflix just continues to allow Robinson and his talented team of collaborative performers, writers, directors, and producers to keep making wonderfully insane sketch comedy for as long as they want.
Rating: A
I Think You Should Leave Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.