[cmontyburns]

"Little America" is Apple TV+'s latest show to debut. This one is the anthology series from Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon about the immigrant experience in America. The whole eight-episode season is available now. Each episode is based on the experience of a real person and concludes with photos of the actual person now and how their life has turned out. That's a brilliant touch because it keeps us remembering that we're watching the actual American experience, just not the one that many/most of are us are used to thinking about.

This one has gotten pretty rapturous reviews. I've watched the first episode and I understand why. It's warm, funny, sad, and hopeful in equal measure. And like everything I've seen on Apple TV+, it's sumptuously shot.

I thought the three actors who played Kabir were all terrific. I had a good laugh at the young one's first thought when he learned what "precocious" means. It was a brief but searing moment when the middle one flashed on the thought that helped him spell "vivisepulture" at the spelling bee. (And Laura Bush sure looked familiar. Paid attention to the credits and: Sherilynn Fenn!) And it was quietly brutal when the older one finally got to back to KFC with his parents for the family meal and finds they can't drink Pepsi anymore. But beautiful.

Looking forward to watching the rest of this series. Dive in!

 

[cmontyburns]

I just watched the second episode, and liked it even more than the first. I smiled through the whole thing despite a few blink-and-you'll-miss-them moments that are (from a privileged point of view) quite sad. The young actress who played Marisol in this one is really wonderful. And the coda is stunning. How inspiring.

Really encourage everyone to give this show a try. It's a gem.

 

[logic88]

This one has gotten pretty rapturous reviews. I've watched the first episode and I understand why. It's warm, funny, sad, and hopeful in equal measure. And like everything I've seen on Apple TV+, it's sumptuously shot.

I thought the three actors who played Kabir were all terrific. I had a good laugh at the young one's first thought when he learned what "precocious" means. It was a brief but searing moment when the middle one flashed on the thought that helped him spell "vivisepulture" at the spelling bee. (And Laura Bush sure looked familiar. Paid attention to the credits and: Sherilynn Fenn!) And it was quietly brutal when the older one finally got to back to KFC with his parents for the family meal and finds they can't drink Pepsi anymore. But beautiful.

Looking forward to watching the rest of this series. Dive in!

Just saw the first episode and I liked it. But I am curious why Kabir never visited his parents in India though. I assume he's a US citizen and could re-enter the country without issue.

 

[cmontyburns]

Good question. It's possible that in real life, he did (these are dramatizations of real events, but not documentaries). If not, I'd guess it was due to some combination of no passport, minor, needed to look after the motel, no money, and fear.

 

[logic88]

I just watched the second episode, and liked it even more than the first. I smiled through the whole thing despite a few blink-and-you'll-miss-them moments that are (from a privileged point of view) quite sad. The young actress who played Marisol in this one is really wonderful. And the coda is stunning. How inspiring.

Really encourage everyone to give this show a try. It's a gem.

For some reason, I haven't been watching but I finally saw the second episodes and it's quite uplifting. Unfortunately I'm not so sure that something like that could happen in today's environment.

 

[jlb]

.......Really encourage everyone to give this show a try. It's a gem.

Totally agree. We really liked it a lot. Not sure it would work as well if each episode wasn't based on a true story the way they do it. It really is a great snapshot of life and the immigrant experience! DEFINITELY give it a shot if you haven't yet.
#Jaguar

 

[cmontyburns]

I've been away from the Apple TV+ shows for a couple of weeks at least, but getting back to them now. I wanted to bump this thread to again encourage people who've not seen this show to try it out. It's terrific.

I'm through the first four episodes now. The third episode, about the Ugandan immigrant who had to embrace his inner cowboy to find himself, was funny and touching. I was just waiting for the scene when he walked into the store to buy his first hat, and came out with a hat and a pair of boots, to go all kinds of wrong. Seemed like the old coots in the store were waiting for that, too, but they found a common language in his and their appreciation for cowboy Americana.

The fourth episode, at the silent retreat, and largely silent itself, was lighter-weight than the earlier ones, but that was OK. I think it was probably well-placed in the middle of the season. A lot of it was straight comedy, which I enjoyed. And it had the funniest line I've heard in any show in a while, which I'll not spoil here.

 

[jsmeeker]

I've watched the first two episodes.

Really good stuff. At 30 minutes each, it's a very bingeable series. Does a nice job of telling a good, complete story in that relatively short span of time. I hope this continues and we get more of this.

 

[dwells]

I've watched the first two episodes.

Really good stuff. At 30 minutes each, it's a very bingeable series. Does a nice job of telling a good, complete story in that relatively short span of time. I hope this continues and we get more of this.

Agreed.

But I will say, even though one of the things I love about the show is the short run time, I still ALMOST wish the episodes were just a little longer. Episode 2 is one that I would have loved to have seen a little more detail- would have no problem with it being an hour.

 

[TAsunder]

It’s definitely the best show on Apple TV, not that there was a lot of competition (Mythic Quest and Servant are also good, and that’s about it). Saccharine sweet most of the time but very enjoyable. It reminds me of Amazon’s Modern Love, in a good way.

A friend of mine just went to a silent retreat and as far as I can tell nothing has changed since the 70’s there, based on her description. Well, except maybe they are rather pricey now.

 

[cmontyburns]

I hope this continues and we get more of this.

Apple has ordered a second season.

 

[jsmeeker]

Excellent!

I watched episodes 3 and 4 last night. I liked the guy from Nigeria. Episode 4 was, uhhh... a bit different. But I think it had its moments.

 

[cmontyburns]

I’m glad they did that one.

In the opening credits, when the “based on a true story” tile comes up, they also show those words in the native language of the person who is the subject of the episode. I was waiting for her to be from the UK somewhere because they left the words in English this time. A bit of a cheat since she was French — unless it was a subtle riff on her being silent most of the episode.

 

[jsmeeker]

I think it was meant to make you wonder where she was from. Putting up the translation would have been spoilery

 

[logic88]

Given all of the free time I have now, I'm going back through my list of things to watch. Couldn't get into episode 4 so I skipped it for now. Watched episode 5 about the Uganda immigrant. Thought it was only OK. A bit too predictable and not much of a payoff at the end. The cookies also sounded too crunchy. I'm more into soft cookieies.

 

[cmontyburns]

I watched episode 6, with the lady on the cruise ship with her kids, the other day. It was one of the slower ones, though I liked it, and also quietly very sad. The coda, where we meet the real-life person, had a genuine surprise in it.

 

[logic88]

Just watched that one yesterday. It was a bit slow but it really got to me as my mom was a single parent and to this day, I can't believe the sacrifices she made for us. A four hanky rating from me.

 

[logic88]

Watched episodes 7 and 8. Thought 7 was a bit odd with not much payoff but I liked episode 8 quite a bit. Not that anything like that would happen these days.

 

[Regina]

*BUMP*
Just bought a new iPad and it came with a year of Apple TV+ so I am binging everything I can! Just watched the first ep and OMG-laughter and tears! Going to watch the rest of the series during this week.

If you have Apple TV+ and haven't watched this yet, WATCH IT!

 

[cmontyburns]

Oh, good for you! This is one of the best series of the year. :thumbsup: