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DUBAI: There are few television pairings with as much built-in chemistry as Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The two actors have known each other for decades, regularly vacation together, and clearly enjoy each other\u2019s company. So it\u2019s impressive, in a way, that \u201cBrothers,\u201d Apple\u2019s new \u201cmeta-comedy\u201d built around that friendship, manages to waste its potential.<\/p>\n
On paper, the premise is irresistible: McConaughey and Harrelson play fictionalized versions of themselves whose friendship thrown into chaos when they discover they might be half-brothers.<\/p>\n
The story begins with Harrelson bringing his\u00a0family to McConaughey\u2019s Texas ranch for a break after his daughter\u2019s engagement falls apart. McConaughey is contemplating a run for governor after a speech commemorating his late father goes hilariously awry. A decades-old family secret, spilled by McConaughey\u2019s mother, Mam Mac (Holland Taylor), then becomes the excuse for the two stars to spend eight episodes together.<\/p>\n
McConaughey and Harrelson\u2019s effortless rapport is evident in almost every scene they share: the rhythms of two old friends who know exactly how to irritate and entertain each other. But instead of building around that chemistry, the series repeatedly throws them into sitcom situations that feel painfully contrived \u2014 insisting that these men are hilarious rather than giving them material worthy of their talent.<\/p>\n
It also leaves the characters around them frustratingly underwritten. Many subplots involving their kids or spouses lose steam. The wives in particular, are given so little to work with \u2014 especially conspicuous in a series that presumes to talk about family.<\/p>\n
It would all be less frustrating if \u201cBrothers\u201d were simply a silly sitcom. Instead, it wants to be something more meaningful \u2014 a meditation on friendship, family, stardom, identity and the complicated mythology we build around ourselves. But those ideas are never explored beyond the surface.<\/p>\n
Apple already has successful comedy series (\u201cTed Lasso,\u201d \u201cShrinking\u201d) that demonstrate that emotional connection has to be earned. \u201cBrothers\u201d doesn\u2019t earn it. What remains is a strangely hollow showcase for two much-loved actors. The show has the ingredients to be genuinely funny, heartfelt and unpredictable. Instead, it\u2019s profoundly shallow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n