Critic Reviews

There are lots of sight gags here, with many of them involving the very funny Rhys Darby.

While the premise and election plotline that follow are flimsy, the cast is clearly capable of handling anything that’s thrown at them. They make Wrecked worth watching.

The humor can be pretty lowbrow ... but the agreeable cast--which includes Rhys Darby from Flight of the Conchords--suggests that all is not you-know-what. [17 Jun 2016]

By Episode 3, Wrecked is what it wants to be: An enjoyably mindless comedy well suited to the carefree months.

That it’s shot and scored (and much of the time acted) as if it were a drama--not exaggeratedly dramatic, with a wink, but played straight--gives the silliness some substance and makes watching a pleasure.

It’s over the top in some places, such as the discovery of an entire suitcase filled with sex toys and the difficulty the survivors have trying to find a place to defecate in peace. But after a while, it doesn’t seem over the top in enough places, which is often a danger in making high-concept comedies.

Wrecked is a decent summer comedy but it takes its sweet time finding its footing. The series doesn’t find its true identity until episode three, well after the initial “Lost” jokes have worn thin.

The big problem with Wrecked is that the pilot episode is just not that funny. A second episode was slightly funnier but not entertaining enough to warrant watching a third half-hour.

Wrecked is so unfunny, shrill, and satirically derelict, that the survivor’s desperate need to escape the island is ridiculously easy to sympathize with.

A number of the characters are actively annoying, and the show’s tendency to have people shout at each other in lieu of supplying briskly paced storytelling or well-crafted jokes becomes wearying.