Jack Whitehall's parenthood series slated as critics say joke is wearing thin
Jack Whitehall's new series about becoming a dad has failed to win over critics, with one calling it "predictable" and others suggesting some of his jokes are wearing thin.
The comedian and actor filmed Netflix's Fatherhood With My Father as he and his partner Roxy Horner welcomed their first child Elsie, who is now one. He teamed up with his dad Michael as he set out to explore the new world of parenthood, following on from the Travels With My Father series that they previously made together.
However, reviews are coming in, and the show has received a clutch of two-star reviews.
Complaints levelled at the programme include that it leans too heavily on the generation gap jokes the pair built into their travel show. Plus some reviewers felt that the topic of parenting wasn't really front and centre as the Whitehalls do everything from meeting a humanoid AI to find out what tech might look like in the baby's future to visiting a survivalist community in Kansas.
What do the critics think of Fatherhood With My Father?
In a review with the heading "Jack Whitehall’s new show with his dad is yet more predictable generation-gap banter", The Independent dished up just two out of a possible five stars. The review said that despite the parenting theme, the show "is essentially an excuse for Whitehall pere et fils to trade hit-and-miss generation-gap banter as they take part in a series of increasingly bizarre activities".
It suggested that instead of trying to set up genuine discussions about what it means to parent, the activities appear to have been selected to "elicit bewilderment" from 80-something Michael, which critic Katie Rosseinsky said was a pattern that "soon wears thin".
"Both he and his son feel trapped in their TV personas by clunky scripted gags," she wrote. "It’s a shame, because both of them are genuinely funny when they’re allowed to riff off one another organically, like when Jack quips that Michael probably enjoyed the way that old school baby monitors used to accidentally pick up their neighbours’ conversations, because 'he could have roleplayed being in the Stasi', or when Michael goes off on a strange tangent about the monks who taught at his school".
The Times' review agreed on the star front and suggested that the parenthood premise was "used loosely as an excuse for yet another Jack and dad celebrity travelogue".
"The real issue with the format is that while not particularly insightful, these repetitive globetrotting antics are diminishing returns and not really that amusing either," said writer Tim Glanfield. While he also noted that there were some funny moments, he said "too much of the show is left to Jack being young, cool and naive and his dad being old, fussy and out of touch".
The reviewer over at iNews was unimpressed, saying that Whitehall's "shtick has worn unwatchably thin". "There's a new premise as Jack becomes a dad, but the pair's faux bickering is the same as ever," wrote Nick Duerdin.
The writer also noted how the joke is "thinner ever time" when the pair lean on the comedy sparked by the fact that Michael is of a different generation to his 36-year-old son, a theme that started in Travels With My Father.
What did viewers say?
However, the show has gone down better with viewers, with one fan on Instagram calling it "brilliant". "I’m watching and already crying with laughter," said another.
Someone else posted on X: "Jack Whitehall and his dad are the two most hilarious people I’ve ever watched. I’m cackling what the hell??" "Why only 4 episodes?" asked another viewer.
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This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/jack-whitehall-fatherhood-with-my-father-netflix-110534450.html
