What Would Diplo Do?

Diplo doesn’t come off too well; he’s arguably brilliant, but also self-aggrandizing, socially clueless, and as impulsive as a toddler. But that the DJ would examine and deflate his own persona is engaging, funny stuff; it’s made 10 times more entertaining by the alarming, charismatic ease with which Van Der Beek slips into the role.

The writing isn’t phenomenal or polished, nor is the comedic timing. But Van Der Beek does an excellent job of mining Diplo’s contradictions and blind spots for material (and there’s lots of material to work with), then charming viewers with his character’s cluelessness when the insipid behavior borders on intolerable.

What makes this work--and the first two episodes of What Would Diplo Do? are reasonably ingratiating and amusing--is the Van Der Beek straddle, the tension between the hipsterdom he seems to aspire to and the normality he can’t help projecting.

Van Der Beek’s performance is definitely the draw in What Would Diplo Do?, which, at least in the first two episodes, is driven by sitcom-ish shenanigans.

While they haven’t created anything as groundbreaking or enduring as that Louis CK series or Christopher Guest mock rockumentary, the folks behind What Would Diplo Do? have spun a solid half- hour comedy out of what could have just been a sketch (and was an ad). And there’s always room for a remix.

Portrayed with aplomb by Van Der Beek, Diplo is an intentional contradiction. .... There's some comedic potential here, but WWDD? doesn't deliver the joke density or fun absurdity of similar, better send-ups like the Lonely Planet's Popstar. [4 Aug 4 2017, p.55]

Viceland's first foray into the scripted space is an odd and absurd and initially inconsistent show.