Season Review: Captain Fall Season One

Posted on July 29, 2023December 28, 2023 by Chelsea Gamble

Netflix just dropped its new seafaring smuggling show, Captain Fall, which boasts an all-star voice cast that includes Adam Devine, Jason Ritter, and Christopher Meloni.

Created by Norseman’s Jon Iver Helgaker and Jonas Torgerson, along with Disney alumni Joel Trussell, the show follows the misadventures of Jonathan Fall (Ritter), a nautical nepo baby so inept that his famous family name is only able to score him a position manning the helm of a tugboat ride at an amusement park. That is, until an international band of smugglers finds themselves short a fall guy to captain their unconventional cruise ship, The Pacific Pearl/Caribbean Queen.

So how does Netflix’s latest offering to the world of animated programming fare? It’s got a lot of good stuff going for it. First and foremost is tight voice acting – Ritter infuses pathos into a lead character who could easily have been one note, Adam Devine is very funny as Jonathan’s rude, crude brother Tanner (also a captain), and Barry’s Anthony Carrigan does his damn best as over the top villain Mr Tyrant. Lesley-Ann Brandt (Lucifer) plays murderous love interest Liza with a lot of nuance, and Meloni’s dogged investigator Agent Steel oozes frustration as he receives no help from anybody with anything.

The character design, backgrounds, and semi-classical score also all work in Captain Fall’s favour – it’s a bit like watching characters from a Daniel Clowes comic act out scenes in a world drawn by Chris Ware, by way of Wes Anderson. The show looks and sounds quite lovely, in stark contrast to its violent, hyper-sexual content. The show starts with a conga line of adorable kids being tased, there’s an episode where 50% of its runtime is spent at an orgy for almost no reason, and people tend to get their eyes gouged out on the reg.

There’s also a lot of straight-up funny writing in Captain Fall. Whether it’s the safe wisdom doled out by Jonathan’s father, (Statistically, every family has a molester in their ranks) or a criminal making very specific threats (slicing a penis into four separate mangled penises, none of which will work), the writing can be elegant in its crassness. It’s also very sex positive, especially in regards to the elderly, who have more sex scenes than their younger counterparts.

Unfortunately, Captain Fall is ultimately hindered by its affinity for racial stereotypes. Of course, when concerning one’s self with all things international smuggling, you’re going to come across the occasional Tanzanian organ dealer murdering people with albinism, child soldiers from the Congo, and Russian oligarchs throwing breast implant parties. These are all real things that undeniably occur in the actual world. But it’s pretty hard to justify giving a high rating to any show that depicts a Chinese pharmacist replete with long, thin moustache and silk robe selling illegal boner medicine made out of cut-off tiger penises getting blown up in a fireworks explosion. This team can do better.