First Impressions: DMV (CBS)

DMV – “Pilot”
Created and written by Dana Klein
Directed by Trent O’Donnell
Airs Mondays at 8:30pm EST on CBS

As the lone new comedy on CBS’s slate this fall (and one of the few new network sitcoms on any broadcast network this season), DMV arrives in a weird place for the workplace comedy (and the network sitcom, though that’s a much larger bowl of worm we’re not digging into here). Though there have been occasional highlights – early episodes of Abbott Elementary, or the short-lived American Auto, which also starred DMV‘s Harriet Dyer – the genre been in a weird place in the post-Superstore era. CBS’s latest crack at the genre, DMV, feels in line with a lot of recent attempts at reviving the format, its first 22 minutes an abundantly-familiar mix of character archetypes and situational comedy – but with just enough sense of a vibe and voice that it could turn into something more than its admittedly mediocre opening chapter.

“Pilot” follows the employees at one of four DMVs in Hollywood; Collette, the overachieving, undersexed driving instructor (Dyer); quirky goofball instructor Vic (Tony Cavalero, coming off an iconic run on The Righteous Gemstones); Gregg (Tim Meadows), the disgruntled veteran hanging around until retirement; and Barbara, whose first day as manager of the DMV branch provides the setting for the show’s first episode.

Based on Katherine Heiny’s 2024 short story Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented, “Pilot” observes the banality of DMV life in the way all 21st-century comedies tend to do. Most of its drama either comes from external administrative forces (two consultants hired by the governor to audit the four Hollywood DMVs), workplace quirks, or interpersonal dramas – and its here where “Pilot” is at its most flaccid, intermingling half-baked stories about Barbara’s heartfelt integrity for her work at the DMV, with slapstick bits like montages of Collette giving a lesson to a probable serial killer, or Vic making his student pay for his exorbitant fast food order.

“Pilot”, which mostly follows Collette as she gushes over Noa (Alex Tarrant), a new employee at the office, is a bit robotic as it goes through the motions of introducing its setting and characters. It’s a combination of predictable and vanilla that isn’t particularly endearing early on; Collette’s neuroses are rather cliche, Barbara’s presence is awkwardly isolated from the rest of the cast, and the immediate need to start diving into its protagonist’s new crush follows makes for a rather rote introduction to its cast of characters. There are bits of personality lingering under the surface – most notably with Meadows’ disaffected, near-retirement energy and when DMV leans into physical comedy a bit, letting Dyer have a bit of fun as she tries to climb out a bathroom window (after walking around the office with a menstrual pad attached to the back of her shirt).

Unsurprisingly these parts all feel a bit disparate and bland at times – and at its worst, leans into trite cliches about the importance of those who give the drivers of America access to the road, and the endless mountain of menial administrative work that comes with it. But those hints of a more interesting, performance-driven series are intriguing, because of the show’s obviously-talented cast and its intriguing, if too-infrequent moments of reflection (which, admittedly, contain just enough shades of Superstore to raise an eyebrow in interest). But there’s nothing inherently off-putting about how “Pilot” introduces its characters and world that preclude the series from realizing its potential and finding a voice all to its own. To some degree, the issues of “Pilot” are those of any sitcom pilot, especially one privy to the same network notes every post-The Office and Parks and Recreation era feels like it suffers from (to some degree or another); in the few moments it can step outside of those archetypes and expectations, there are inklings of a funny, grounded series with an incredibly potent setting for fun, dynamic storytelling (and importantly, an easy way to backdoor cameos of just about anyone into an episode).

I’m willing to bet “Pilot” is not the summation of DMV‘s ideas and personalities; thought it doesn’t exactly excite viewers out the gate with an ingenious premise, twist, or eclectic group of characters, I’m going to hang in with this series for a few episodes to see whether it can find a voice and start to build up and away from the incredibly familiar, lightweight foundation of its first episode, and whether it’ll prove capable of picking up the working-class comedy baton other, lesser series of recent vintage haven’t been worthy of attaining.

Grade: C

Other thoughts/observations:

• DMV is definitely a series I’ll be checking in on at some point in the first season. Keep an eye on the main page and the Rookie Rankings for more as the season continues.
  
• I love the “It Has Been X Tests Since I Nearly Died” written on the office whiteboard.
  
• Is this the only DMV in the world whose cars don’t have a passenger brake?
  
• “You staged the house, don’t blame me for checking out the Zillow.”
  
• Noa is… not the most interesting romantic interest? Hoping this is something the show moves away from as it builds out its first season.