A Revry original, Unconventional is a really well-liked queer dramedy that feels totally different from the usual stuff. The heart of the story is about two pretty eccentric queer siblings and their partners trying to build a family that doesn't follow the traditional rules. It takes a super raw and unfiltered look at queer life, diving deep into things like mental health, addiction, and how complicated identity and relationships can get. It’s not afraid to get messy or show people at their most vulnerable, and it really pushes boundaries while showing a lot of different queer experiences. The first season has nine episodes, and each one is about a half-hour long. The story centers on Noah, a grad student who’s been struggling for years to wrap up his PhD. He’s been with his husband, Dan, for nine years, and they’ve recently gotten married and moved to Palm Springs. While they're trying to figure out how to start a family and have a baby, they decide to shake things up by in...
This show is back for a second season, and it’s still this wild, colorful comedy about a gay British-Pakistani guy named Jamma who just can't seem to grow up or commit to anything. Mawaan Rizwan is the lead, and he basically plays this fun-loving, "man-child" version of himself. He’s super relatable and puppyish, wearing his insecurities right on his sleeve while he struggles with the whole idea of being a "real" adult. It’s full-on slapstick and definitely leans into the cartoonish world of his own imagination.
Picking up from where things left off, Jamma has been fired from his job and dumped by his therapist boyfriend, Guy. He’s currently crashing with his friend Winnie and working as a clown in a care home, while his brother Isaac is trying to make it as an artist. At first, Jamma is more into hooking up with random guys than fixing things with Guy, but once they run into each other, he decides he has to win him back. One episode is even filmed like an old-school American sitcom, complete with a laugh track, where Jamma’s whole chaotic family—including his insurance-ad-famous mom and his absent dad—show up to wreck Guy’s new house. The main plot is the "will they or won't they" drama between Jamma and Guy. To prove he’s changed, Jamma actually makes a deal with a creepy magician to sell his soul just so he can "grow up." He turns into this boring, suit-wearing guy who talks like a banker. The middle episodes follow this new version of Jamma while Guy tries to write a book, even visiting Guy's childhood home where they run into his dad's ghost. It all leads to a finale that’s a total mashup of a book launch and a wedding, with Jamma trying to save both.
The set design in this show is just out of this world—I mean, Jamma’s dad literally lives in a house where everything from the walls to the sofa is made out of cardboard and brown paper. The visuals were the best part of the first season, and they’re still incredible here, using everything from shadow puppets to horror movie vibes to tell the story. The cast is great too, especially since Mawaan’s actual brother and mom are in it. But if I’m being honest, I felt like some of the charm from the first season was missing. This time around, it gets a lot more psychological and heavy. We see Jamma trying to kill off his "inner clown" and craving attention at any cost, plus both brothers dealing with major daddy issues. Even Guy’s tendency to act like a father figure in his relationships gets called out. The ending felt really wholesome, like it might be the end of the whole series, but not everything landed perfectly for me.
It's easily one of the most creative and visually stunning shows out there, but the shift toward deeper psychological drama made it feel a little less fun than the first season. (6/10)
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