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What to expect: Breaking down YouTube’s Weird City trailer

By Jerald Raymond Pierce

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We’re all still waiting for Jordan Peele’s new version of the Twilight Zone, but in the meantime, we have this crazy trailer for a YouTube Premium original anthology from Peele’s comedic-sci-fi mind.

Weird City, from Jordan Peele and former Key and Peele writer Charlie Sanders, is a satire set in the metropolis of Weird.

According to YouTube’s description, the show, set in the not-too-distant future, shows a world where the middle class has disappeared and the city is divided into two sections: Above the Line and Below the Line.

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Each episode aims to capture “the unease of modern urban living in a bizarre and peculiar lens” as it examines different aspects of present-day life. (Think: a satirical, comedic take on Black Mirror.)

Now, I tell you all that because the trailer is straight bizarre. And I’m here for it.

First of all, this cast is outrageous: LeVar Burton, Dylan O’Brien, Ed O’Neil, Rosario Dawson, Michael Cera, Mark Hamill, Laverne Cox, Sara Gilbert, Steven Yeun, Awkwafina, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Auli’i Cravalho.

There are quite a few heavy hitters in there. To be fair, that’s most likely because of the Black Mirror-esque nature of the show. Everyone may only appear in a couple episodes or so as Weird City works to tell many different stories.

With that said, the trailer is all over the place.

The first shot of the trailer perfectly shows the divide in the city. Above the Line is this glowing city of technological advancement, exactly what you’d expect from a futuristic city. And below the line is just…brown.

The first conversation the trailer shows is two people talking about how they think there’s good food below the line, but they’re too scared to go check it out. It’s a clear indicator of what the show is interested in: the divide between social classes and what can force people to venture outside of their class.

That’s reinforced throughout the trailer. It’s really one of two main themes (the other being “look at the weird things wealthy people do”), but it’s arguably the one with the most potential.

Weird City’s trailer shows a group from Above the Line traveling through the slums of Below the Line, amazed by their need for laundromats. It also highlights Dylan O’Brien’s character (who had overheard the two people talking about Below the Line’s food) getting patted down at length at the border between classes.

What about life Above the Line could drive those living well to venture into squalor? My bet is that O’Brien’s character needs something from them. The others? Potentially joy riders looking to be entertained by Below the Line living. Bringing two groups of people living at opposite ends of any spectrum is potential for great conflict and comedy.

The conflict aspect is so crucial because it shows Peele and Sanders actually care about the science fiction of the show. The technology and its implications are just as important as putting people in goofy situations.

The other theme is just the weird things the wealthy people do. The Weird City trailer shows everything from Awkwafina and Yvette Nicole Brown instantly changing into party dresses to Michael Cera’s character eating a bug and instantly becoming insanely strong. (It honestly looks like he’s wearing the muscle suit from Arrested Development, which is just hilarious.)

Really, the biggest takeaway from this trailer is that it’s going to take a hard look at societal tendencies. Love, beauty, pleasure, classism, technology, and pretty much anything Black Mirror examine. But Weird City will give it a much more satirical spin. It’s a talented cast with endless material to skewer. I trust Jordan Peele not to disappoint.

Next. The Punisher: Final season 2 trailer. dark

This all sounds exciting, but are you willing to get YouTube Premium to watch it? Let us know your thoughts about the show and trailer in the comments.

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