Alternatino with Arturo Castro

After watching a few episodes, Castro’s sense of humor starts to become a little too predictable. Mid-way through, you can feel the team straining to subvert expectations. Thankfully, Castro’s charisma and range go a long way.

A funny, fresh comedy half-hour, “Alternatino” offers some welcome laughs amid the drama-heavy diet of summer TV.

The quality and the pacing vary—and the political satire, especially, walks a tricky line, as with an ad for ice that boasts free-range children instead of ones in cages. Ugly topics like this are, arguably, the ones that comedy should be taking on, but when the bits don’t work it’s rough. When they do click, however, there’s a satisfying jolt.

By all rights, “Alternatino” should not be TV’s only sketch comedy show fronted by a Latinx actor; it’s just too much pressure, and you can feel the show straining underneath it while also trying to make fun of it. Still, Castro and company are more than game to try, and the moments when they pull it off are worth the effort.

This series is acceptable-but-unremarkable, the occasional perceptive or funny bit lost amid the inoffensively stale or inevitably dated. Watching all 21 minutes of any Alternatino episode won't cause any real pain or irritation, but your life would be lived more efficiently by waiting and checking out whichever clip or two Comedy Central decides it hopes to see go viral each week.