Ballers Season 1

I am often on the lookout for a show to watch that my wife won’t particularly miss, and we are now trading off shifts with a newborn so this is particularly important. I’ve seen some of Ballers before, and like the other Mark Wahlberg show, Entourage, there is a huge dudebro audience vibe. Honestly, my wife would probably enjoy it too, but with lines like “Trust me… never buy a depreciating asset. If it drives, flies, floats or f***s – lease it!” it’s pretty clear that women are not the target demographic.

As mentioned above, the writing can be cringey at times. However, a lot of the dialogue actually works. Some major characters have engaging story lines, particularly Omar Miller’s Charles Greene and John David Washington’s Ricky Jerret. Unfortunately, the main character, played by Dwayne Johnson, is a pretty bland role used to give more interesting characters someone to work off of.

The acting is mostly solid, and John David Washington and Rob Corddry do an excellent job in their roles.

Overall, the drama and comedy are not great, but they are good enough to keep me engaged in my second time watching this season. It’s a mostly forgettable but fairly entertaining season of TV.