Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Deadpan comedy about an earnest clown in a bleak world.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
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Baskets
What's the Story?
Bleak comedy series BASKETS centers on the (lame) life and (foolish) ambitions of Chip Baskets (Zach Galifianakis), a 40-something hapless loser who is forced to move back to his hometown of Bakersfield, California, when his dreams of attending French clown school crash and burn after he discovers you need to speak French to understand the lessons there. He brings with him a French wife, Penelope (Sabina Sciubba), who openly tells him she does not love him at all and only married him so she could live in America, and he gets a job as a rodeo clown making $4 an hour. Worse, he has to contend with his disappointed mother (played by Louie Anderson) and his contemptuous twin brother, Dale (Galifianakis, in a dual role), who runs a local career college. His only friend is his insurance agent Martha (Martha Kelly), who's weird and kind of annoying, but Chip's in no position to turn down anyone who's willing to hang out with him and give him rides.
Is It Any Good?
With comedian Louis CK in the director's chair, it's no surprise that this outing is like his own self-named show: deadpan, ironic, and by turns amusing and bleak. Chip Baskets is a ridiculous figure, to be sure -- actually wanting to be a French clown? Any American could tell you how that's going to play here -- but played sympathetically by Galifianakis and given backstory and motivations viewers can relate to, he comes off as a character you can laugh with and not at. Not that there is a ton of guffawing here -- the chuckles are more of the rueful and knowing variety than thigh-slappers. Still, fans of that kind of (sometimes uncomfortable) humor will enjoy watching Chip explain to Martha why her dress looks like a shower curtain and Chip's mom Mrs. Baskets (played in a surprisingly effective bit of stunt casting by venerable comic Anderson) extoll the virtues of her adopted second set of twin sons over her bio-sons. It's exactly what you'd expect of both Galifianakis (a lovable loser) and CK (who enjoys evoking conflicted laughter), so if you like that kind of thing, you'll like this particular thing.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the point made that Chip would prefer to be a French, not American, clown. What is the difference? Why is one funnier than the other?
American comedy frequently mocks the French. What examples can you think of? How are French people presented in American humor? Describe a French person as seen from the perspective of an American sitcom. Would it surprise you to know that European shows frequently mock Americans?
Is the audience supposed to like Chip? To relate to him? To be disgusted by him? How can you tell?
TV Details
- Premiere date : January 21, 2016
- Cast : Zach Galifianakis , Martha Kelly , Sabina Sciubba
- Network : FX
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Award : Emmy - Emmy Award Winner
- Last updated : December 8, 2025
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