by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
I changed my major in college a bunch of times before settling on an odd collection of majors and minors. As someone who went to college undecided, it’s daunting to think about who I wanted to be when I wasn’t even sure of what I wanted to do, or who I truly was. Sometimes, I’m still trying to figure out who I am and what I’m meant to do. It’s an incredible question to ask someone, what am I supposed to be doing with my life?
This is the central premise of The Big Door Prize, a new show on Apple TV+.
In the small town of Deerfield, a mysterious big blue machine appears at a grocery store that tells people what their life’s potential is. It requires your social security number and fingerprints, which seems a little sketchy. Once the machine spits out what someone’s potential is, they need to choose what to do with this information.
This premise presents an interesting dynamic, which is the central thesis of the show. Two parts of the series are the most fascinating: seeing what people get as their potential, and then ultimately what they do with this information. When a character gets their potential, it’s met with various levels of confusion, relief, and frustration. Some characters get a potential that makes sense to them and fits right into their life. Others look at it as a watershed moment where there is an opportunity to upend their life to make a drastic change.
The Big Door Prize also presents a look at the argument between whether your potential is the result of an intervention — divine or otherwise — or if free will can throw a wrench into what’s in the cards. Some citizens of Deerfield see the potential as God telling them they need to do something different with their life. Others see it as a metaphor, instead of something literal they need to do differently with their life. The abstract interpretation of some characters’ potential yields some of the best comedy of the series.
There’s a wide net cast for the characters of the town. The central family we follow is Dusty (Chris O’Dowd), a teacher, and his wife Cass (Gabrielle Dennis). They represent opposite ends of the machine’s intent. Dusty’s card causes him to have a crisis of identity in trying to figure out what the card means, while Cass embraces her card, and tries to do everything she can to be what it says. Trina (Djouliet Amara), Dusty and Cass’ child, is a high school student struggling with a recent tragic event, as well as issues in her personal life. Her card has a wake-up call effect, but it causes more issues. I bought the chemistry with Dusty and Cass, but the performances are generally okay. None of the performances stand above anyone else.
The interwoven storylines of everyone in town help keep the story as a whole moving. Some storylines fit together better than others. A tragic event that involves Trina and a lot of other people in her school falls a little flat and out of place. The storyline about a local business owner named Giorgio (Josh Segarra) is high on comedy, but low on substance. There could have been more there, but Giorgio as a character isn’t all that interesting.
The character I found the most compelling, and who is the center of one of my favorite episodes, is Father Rueben (Damon Gupton). He has a lot to say about how the machine is not God giving people a sign for what they should be doing with their lives; rather it’s a push for people to decide for themselves on their future. There’s a lot of philosophical talk about the nature of signs that we use to justify behavior. Rueben’s backstory is filled with a lot of tragedy, and raises a lot of questions about the nature of the machine. Gupton also has the best performance of the series. I could have used more of him, particularly because he has a great story with another local resident named Hana (Ally Maki)
The end of the season involves a two-part episode with a town-wide festival that leaves a great stinger for a potential Season Two. Lots of people in the town are struggling with what their card means, while the validity of the machine’s outputs comes into question. Dusty and Cass have a big decision to make. The final episodes of the season are among the best of the series, pushing characters and stories to the brink, while potentially setting up a new season.
The Big Door Prize is another win for Apple TV+, but I don’t think it’ll be a major hit. The series offers an intriguing story, with a meaningful message, and passable performances and stories. It is among the better comedies on the streaming platform.
Score: 7/10
The Big Door Prize is currently streaming on Apple TV+
You can read more from Mike Hilty, and follow him on Twitter, Letterboxd, and Serializd