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Nov 04, 2015 By Zach Hollwedel Aziz Ansari

Aziz Ansari—forever memorable as Parks and Recreation‘s fast-talking, business-minded, materialistic Tom Haverford—teams up with Parks and Recreation co-executive producer Alan Yang on Master of None, a new Netflix series. Ansari, who also writes and directs the new series, stars as Dev, a 30-year-old aspiring actor navigating career and personal life in New York City. It sounds a tried and true setup, but Master of None immediately breaks the mold, infusing the struggling actor formula with a touching helping of both heart and humor.

More than a comedy about breaking into the film industry, Master of None is a coming-of-age story for Millennials. People of this generation—of my generation—tend to settle down later in life, opting to postpone getting married and starting families, or to not do so at all. Master, through Ansari’s Dev, explores this zeitgeist acutely and genuinely, examining the nature of family, as experienced by today’s young adults. As Dev’s friends become parents, he waffles on his own feelings about raising a family. Ansari and Yang contrast Dev’s indecisiveness with his immigrant parents’ experiences starting a family in 1980s America. (Ansari’s actual parents, Shoukath and Fatima Ansari, play Dev’s parents, adding yet another layer to the show’s masterful look at the parent-child relationship.) Master of None‘s ample laughs and touching sincerity make it a welcome addition to the Netflix lineup. (www.netflix.com)

Author rating: 7/10