Social Distance

As on “Orange,” the comedy of “Social Distance” is sharp, provocative and cathartic, and more often than not, it’s rooted in pain. Though the episodes are short, some less than 20 minutes, watching them feels like entering the lives of full characters who have stories and conflicts that predate the pandemic and would be interesting even without it.

Even when Social Distance focuses on the pandemic — a desperate father (Peter Scanavino) cares for his toddler while his COVID-stricken wife (Ali Ahn) quarantines in a bedroom 10 feet away — there’s a humanity to the stories' specificity.

The episodes we watched did fine during the funny parts, not as fine during the serious ones. ... But what we appreciated was the sophisticated nature of the humor we saw in each 16-22-minute episode. ... It’s also refreshing to not hear those [“remember when we did this?”] lines, and just have stories about how the humans relate to each other has so utterly changed because of COVID. Let’s hope the rest of the episodes follow suit.

“Social Distance” is filled with clear-eyed acting from an impressive ensemble, which also includes Mike Colter, Peter Scanavino, and Ali Ahn. But the narratives themselves feel rushed, and not just because of their breezy 20-minute runtimes.

Aspects of the episode (with an ensemble cast led by Oscar Nunez) were funny enough, but there didn’t seem to be enough of a meaningful takeaway — members of this squabbling family ultimately vow to get together when they can — to justify the sit.

It’s unfortunately just tedious. It’s clearly an experiment, but nothing here is particularly groundbreaking. It does not reframe the conversation enough, unless you derive pleasure from self-torment or degradation.

The show can feel like either an accidental ad for surveillance capitalism or a PSA against it, depending on your perspective.