One thing that has set Apple TV+ apart from its main competitors in the ongoing streaming wars is the company’s efforts to utilize its lack of pre-existing IP or catalog of familiar titles to tell stories that are, in some ways, deliberately less familiar than the ones streaming elsewhere. And while that hasn’t resulted in the kind of critical consensus or awards-friendly series the tech giant was likely hoping for, it has offered a glimpse at the company’s prestige-y ambitions regarding its foray into original content. And though, like the series that have already been released on the platform, Little America seems unlikely to make an enormous impression amidst the glut of television content competing for viewers’ eyeballs, it nevertheless reinforces Apple’s approach to the kind of storytelling it wants to be involved with.
The series, from writers and executive producers Lee Eisenberg, and the Academy Award-nominated team of Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, is a charming, heartfelt anthology of real-life immigrant stories adapted from a series first seen in Epic Magazine. Every one of the eight half-hour episodes details a story of perseverance amidst seemingly insurmountable struggles, often involving matters of cultural conflict, miscommunication, or issues of citizenship. And though they are emotionally fraught at times, and all too willing to encourage those watching to shed a tear (or many), the episodes typically end on a positive note, emphasizing one individual or another’s triumph over adversity.
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This wholehearted approach to storytelling runs the risk of becoming cloyingly sweet, but Little America, from its delightful opening credits through to the end sequence introducing the real-life inspiration for each story, mostly manages to steer clear of that. The show’s sincerity and sense of humor are its two biggest assets, along with a diverse cast that includes the familiar faces of John Ortiz (Ad Astra) and Shaun Toub (Iron Man) among others. But, perhaps what’s most impressive is the sense that, much like the stories being told, the actors appearing on screen represent the underrepresented.
Because it’s an anthology, Little America is able to move in and out of its various stories quickly, dropping the audience into wildly different scenarios that nevertheless share a common thread and, often, theme. That’s readily apparent in the first two episodes, Kabir and Marisol, which approach the notion of the immigrant experience from a youthful perspective, and in the case of Kabir, from a first-generation American. This, in addition to the welcome 30-minute(ish) runtime makes for a swift, entertaining experience, one that’s surprisingly fulfilling given the emotional breadth and depth each installment is tasked with covering in a relatively small space.
Kabir seems like the right choice to be the series premiere, as the titular character is a precocious child of two immigrants who run a small motel in Utah. Kabir has a bet with his father that if he can learn all the words in the dictionary by the time he turns 16, he’ll earn a Trans Am. This conceit is charming enough on its own, especially as Kabir turns his objective into a skill that earns him a spot at the national spelling bee. Unsurprisingly, a wrench is thrown into Kabir’s plans when his parents are deported, leaving him to run the motel along with a family friend, Kunal (Sunkrish Bala), who isn’t quite the parental figure Kabir needs.
The episode spans several years, as Kabir grows into a young man running his own business, but also as someone asked to fend off a growing sense of disillusionment in the government, as the process of getting his parents home proves prohibitive in more ways than one. And though it ends on a positive note, Kabir leaves the viewer with a lingering sense that an injustice has been done, and that this young man, despite his perseverance and fortitude has been robbed of something more than an opportunity.
Through it all, Little America demonstrates a welcome tonal variance, as all eight stories amove convincingly from moments of tenderness, sincerity, and humor with ease, making for a rich viewing experience that’s deserving of its early second season order.
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Little America premieres Friday, January 17 on Apple TV+.
