Unconventional and sometimes tasteless, it’s one series that audiences will want to return to repeatedly in order to completely appreciate its many dimensions and intricacies that may not be immediately obvious on first viewing. But “Sherman’s Showcase” is above all – and most importantly – just plain funny.

A joyful Sunbeam Mixmaster of a sketch show, a Spirograph set spinning through decades of black pop culture, finding faintly psychedelic patterns, in the shared tradition of Sun Ra and K-tel. Its premise is pure meta-absurdism. ... For all the show’s self-awareness, it feels warm, organic, and spontaneous, not cold or contrived.

Clever, laid-back, and sneakily weird, the new IFC series Sherman’s Showcase will be catnip to pop-culture-history obsessives. ... But what makes this series stand out is how it weaves in a utopian fantasy element. Its invented gallery of African-American entertainers are contextualized as part of a thriving black culture that’s obviously part of the mainstream, not operating adjacent to it, or struggling to claim a little corner.

There’s something hugely refreshing about “Sherman’s Showcase,” a show that makes you giggle before you realize, “Hey, that’s pretty smart.”

There are sharp musical parodies; spot-on period costumes; amusing impressions (Mary J. Blige, Lana Del Rey); and appearances by executive producer John Legend, Tiffany Haddish, Quincy Jones and more. Though Showcase is more allusive and ambitious than South Side, both shows are funny.

“Sherman’s Showcase” is starrier, with a brightness and energy to match. ... The format, stretched across eight episodes, allows Riddle and Salahuddin to throw a lot of things against the wall, and they don’t all stick. ... Those with stamina can hang around for the bits that work.

This Showcase is an uneven but offbeat gem. [22 Jul - 4 Aug 2019, p.7]