Tires, a new Netflix series from comedian Shane Gillis, premiered on May 23rd and, in just six short episodes, has set a new standard for post-Woke American sitcoms.
of show The show is set in rural Pennsylvania at a struggling auto repair shop affiliated with the tiny Valley Forge Automotive chain. Gillis, who grew up in Mechanicsburg, knows how to make the setting seem real: the bathrooms are filthy, there are handwritten signs everywhere, and the staff tell vulgar jokes that offend customers. And one of the show’s first lines points out that the smell of new tires is so omnipresent and overpowering that at times I could almost smell it myself.
Gillis plays Shane, a former high school football player in his mid-30s who’s now stuck fixing cars, drinking too much beer, and teasing his cousin Will. Shane has no real ambition to accomplish anything else, which bothers him at times, but not enough to inspire any major change. He has money for rent and beer, and a small captive audience who enjoys his wit. In a society where the cultural and economic foundations of family formation have collapsed, it’s the best life millions of men could hope for. (Related: Schilling: To rebrand itself as pro-family, Republicans must embrace new economic vision)
The show’s low-status, politically incorrect characters are superficially reminiscent of “It’s a Sunny Day in Philadelphia,” but there are some key differences. Painfully obvious They consider the characters to be “the most terrifying people alive.” Really I was supposed to empathize with Dennis, Charlie, Mac, Dee and Frank. The closest I get to true empathy is Infantilizing progressivism They refuse to hold them responsible for their moral decadence because “society first let them down.”
Gillis doesn’t hate Shane. When Shane makes jokes about Asians and blacks, makes loud sex noises, and tells a bunch of women that Epstein’s high-end clientele wants nothing to do with their smelly genitals, the point isn’t that he’s an ignorant bigot; it’s that he’s a funny guy. Did Shane vote for Trump? Absolutely. So did every other employee at the store (except Will). It doesn’t matter. Gillis is a bit guarded about his politics, but it’s clear that he wants to hang out with these guys.
Follow I actually laughed so hard😂 #page #for you #Shenegiris #interesting #Netflix ♬ Original Sound – thehappy_project
Will (Steve Gerben), whose father owns the chain, runs the chain, full of half-baked ideas he picked up in college. In the first episode, for example, he tries to establish his male feminist credentials by making the store a safe place for women, but fails miserably. He even gets a reporter from the local paper (who also serves as a voice for elite urban wokeness in rural Pennsylvania) to write a blurb about it (“Fake news!” Shane sneers). Will is insecure, a bit effeminate, and clearly uncomfortable with the shenanigans that pervade the store, but he’s eager to take part in them.
The underachiever has failed to secure his place in the class he was educated to enter, and feels out of place among the blue-collar workers. They constantly tease him about it, but Shane and the other workers genuinely care about him, too. Their open-minded populism allows them to embrace Will and even learn from his perspective as he tries to straddle two worlds. But it doesn’t go both ways. Respectable people who stop by the store (including a journalist and a female executive at a rival chain) are appalled by Shane and company. But unlike “Always Sunny,” the meddling scolds are not a proxy for the right-thinking viewer. The viewer is meant to identify with the store’s employees and, like them, see the intruders as sanctimonious morons.
Even the casting is a clear indication of the show’s post-Woke Up authenticity.
First, there’s Gillis himself, the guy who got fired before appearing on SNL, the guy who calls people “gay” and “stupid” in specials, the guy who says he prefers his Fox News dad to his MSNBC dad, and, perhaps most notably, the only Trump impersonator who doesn’t seem motivated by pure hatred. (Related: SNL Tried to Change Course, and Failed Spectacularly)
And Andrew Schultz: cancel He blamed China for the COVID-19 pandemic (correctly) and made jokes about women having abortions. Go to hell and, Jordan Peterson’s PodcastSchulz plays one half of a duo of Italian-American men who work at the car dealership across the street and who the Valley Forge staff refer to as “the Wasps.”
Rounding out the cast is comedian (and Daily Caller Super Fan) Stavros Halkias. Clearly (at least to those who click on the link), Halkias is a leftist. But more specifically, he’s part of a group of Trump-era podcasters known as the “dirtbag left,” who promote a Bernie-esque socialist message with an embrace of vulgarity and political incorrectness. Halkias rose to fame with his podcast, “Come Town.” Stylish New York atmosphere Since then, he has drifted toward the anti-establishment right.
A Matt Rife cameo in season 2 would be perfect! And maybe Theo Von too… (Related article: Matt Rife’s fan base explodes after feminist-led cancellation flop: Report)
And season 2 will also be broadcast. This show It has been updated I knew that even before it premiered, and I couldn’t be happier: If “Tires” truly becomes a cultural hit, it might help widen the peephole-sized Overton Window by offering a scathing critique of smug elites, humanizing lowly Republicans and teaching Americans how to laugh together again.
Grayson Quay is the editor of The Daily Caller.
The views and opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.
