I'm A Virgo

At one point a character says, plainly: “All art is propaganda.” But not all art is as fresh and eccentrically realized as this series. I hope Riley gets a second season out of it.

Though no show is going to change anything on its own, it is joyous to see Riley use his platform to express what is on his mind. The more we get glimpses into his vision, with all its rich creativity and righteous outrage bursting free in unexpected directions, the better that I'm a Virgo promises to be.

"Virgo" is precisely what viewers complain they can't find on television—something novel, something offbeat, something surprising; something that lacks serial murder, true crime or, for that matter, an abundance of explanations to the inevitable questions.

I’m a Virgo is ultimately a mishmash of hilarious gags and radical messages that don’t really coalesce into one outstanding statement, but they work as compelling, sharp comedy anyway.

I’m usually put off by preaching, too, but at least Virgo’s constitutes a departure from the bland liberalism that’s so common in an era when so much TV is essentially a series-length Very Special Episode. For one thing, it’s tempered by genuine, if often bleak, hilarity. .... The show also respects its audience’s intelligence, presenting ideas that might be unfamiliar without either condescending or feigning ideological neutrality.

Riley and I’m a Virgo have much on their minds, but if viewers invest in the story — and I mostly did — it’s because Jerome and Washington give it heart.

No one can accuse Riley of failing to swing for the fences. For all its missteps, I’m a Virgo is a striking visual experiment, with a sweet central performance from Jerome. Perhaps a season or two can more satisfactorily explore the many issues on the mind of its creator.