Review: Mr. Birchum “Welcome Back, Birchum!” ; “Thank You for Your Meal Service”

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Overview

“Welcome Back, Birchum!”

Chaos reigns on the first day back at school as Mr. Birchum (Adam Carolla) and Gage (Alonzo Bodden) revive their annual bet to catch the first student insult. The day takes a surprising turn with the arrival of the overzealous new JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) officer, Karponzi (Tyler Fischer), who brings his politically correct agenda to the forefront. Armed with his old-school tools and sharp wit, Mr. Birchum is ready to challenge these modern ideologies. It’s a clash of traditional craftsmanship versus contemporary madness in this uproarious showdown.

“Thank You for Your Meal Service”

On Veterans Day, the fearless members of “Meal Team Six” launch their epic food binge across town. With their sights set on the legendary Top’s Tavern as their final feast, the group gets caught in an ambush of military might and appetite against some familiar foes.

Our Take
Just in time for FOX’s Animation Domination to say goodbye starting next week, Dailywire+ hopes to fill the void for Sunday evening adult animation with a series that FOX actually passed on quite some time ago. Introducing Adam Carolla’s Mr. Birchum. Inspired by a bit that started on the Kevin and Bean show decades ago and has since seen two stints on Comedy Central’s Crank Yankers, Mr. Birchum is an adult animated comedy for fans of adult animation that think today’s original series are going a bit too blue in their political leanings.
Mr. Birchum is a bit redder, though ironically enough, the series’ music is produced by The Simpsons’ own Bleeding Gums Music and Family Guy’s Patrick Warburton makes an appearance in an upcoming episode. The cast is actually quite excellent, featuring a who’s who of comedian heavyweights joining Carolla including Megyn Kelly (playing Wendi), Tyler Fischer (Karponzi), Alonzo Bodden (Gage), Brett Cooper (Jeanie), Sage Steele (Deena), Kyle Dunnigan (Eddie), Danny Trejo (Switchblade), Patrick Warburton (Burly Man), Jay Mohr (Coach Murphy), Rob Riggle (Gunderson), and Roseanne Barr (Principal Bortles).
In the series, Mr. Birchum attempts to navigate a world he doesn’t understand or approve of. He’s befuddled by his gaming streamer son, Eddie (Dunnigan), annoyed at his selfie-taking, snowflake students and is constantly at war with the school district’s appointed “J.E.D.I.” (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion officer) Mr. Karponzi (Fischer). But his best buddy, auto-shop teacher Don Gage (Bodden), his wife Wendi (Kelly), and step-daughter Jeanie (Cooper) have his back, along with some fantasy mentors – the ghost of his gym teacher, Coach Murphy (Mohr) and childhood frozen dinner icon Burly Man (Warburton). He’ll even get an assist from sick-and-tired, wishes she were retired, Principal Bortles (Barr) when competing with Navy buddies against his Army nemesis Gunderson (Riggle), and reformed gang member Switchblade (Trejo) lends a tattooed hand building a house for charity.
The series premiere sets the stage of what you can expect, a culture clash between Mr. Birchum and the left-wing idealists that are trying to infect what’s left of patriotism in California with enough woke-ism to stamp out traditional American values. By episode two we continue to kick things off the Patriot Way with an episode dedicated to Veteran’s Day. Armed Forces veterans will probably get a kick out of the Army vs Navy jokes laden throughout whilst ardent political science majors will prefer the ongoing debate between Wendy and Deena while taking in a spa day. We really don’t spend a ton of time with the kids this week, just quick glimpses to establish that the grown-ups were having a grown-up day (aside from the very David Van Driessen-esque teacher Mr. Karponzi).
That’s not to say Mr. Birchum isn’t without some freshman flaws. For starters, the series attempts to deploy Family Guy-esque cutaway gags that run a tad long and not nearly as succinct as the aforementioned MacFarlane series. Moreover, some of the dialogue comes off as a bit drab in its execution, so the show is left with its hilarious cast to try and bail out a bunch of these moments which usually does work. The one surprise cast member in the series, for my money, is my neighbor who lives two towns over from me, Ms. Megyn Kelly. I know,right? But, I gotta tell ya, she can really hang with these big boys.
So far, the dialogue is truly holding the series back in what could be a strong entry for DailyWire+ in a growing space. A series like Comedy Central’s Brickleberry actually did a better job in being a bit more politically centered and then having the jokes to back it up. The other thing that’s bothering me, DailyWire+ censors the dialogue of this series, which is ironic in a series that is spouting for free speech and freedoms being taken away. If Mr. Birchum wants to really get in with the kids, the show is going to need to unpin the grenade and toss it in. The animation production from Wise Blue Studio isn’t anything special to write home about, but it doesn’t need to be. What’s important is for the series to tighten up the scripts and that’s a Nate Adams thing that needs to be addressed.

About John Schwarz

John is the Chief Editor and Founder of Bubbleblabber.com. While at first a part-time project, Bubbleblabber quickly grew into a full-fledged operation and officially became a company in 2014. When John isn't running a business full-time, he likes to go to concerts with your mother.