The Premise

It's hard to rate an anthology series based on just two episodes, but the two episodes gives us enough to get a feel for what B.J.Novak is trying to achieve. His "anthology of now", which sounds like a tagline that Novak' s character from the Office would come up with, is basically The Twilight Zone minus the supernatural. Taking social issues and stretching and twisting them like taffy until the "ah hah" conclusion. Whereas Jordan Peele' s current take on the classic series was criticized for wearing it's message on it's sleeve, The Premise wears it's messages as the full coat. The first episode veers into absurdity when a sex tape is entered into evidence in a police cover up case (a portion of the video shows the police activity), and the person on the tape becomes under scrutiny more than the case at hand. It can be an analogy of how victims, such as of sexual assault, are judged on the stand as harshly as the perpetrator. It's well acted and clever to a degree, but subtle, it ain't. The second episode is as different as day and night, especially if viewed back to back. Jon Bernthal seems to channel his inner DeNiro (he gives a sly little smile at times and there's tension behind his agreeable facade) as a new employee **** lobby organization with a painful past. Bernthal gives an amazing performance that is open and guarded at the same time. And Novak directs the episode very well. Anthology shows will have hit and miss episodes. Even the brilliant Black Mirror will have episodes that don't stick the landing. But I give FX credit for giving Novak a platform to tell his stories despite the "get the MESSAGE? huh?" approach to his storytelling.