One Of Netflix’s Best Shows Returns Darker & Angrier Than Ever

When The Vince Staples Show dropped on Netflix last year, it felt like a breath of fresh air. It combined the profound surrealism of Atlanta, the hilarious mundanity of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and the idiosyncrasies of Staples’ own comedic voice to deliver a brisk, breezy TV comedy like no other. Season 2 deftly recaptures the uniquely surreal tone of season 1, but it goes much darker with it. Season 1 dealt with serious subjects like gun violence and racial profiling, but it handled them in a lighthearted way to highlight how absurd they are. Season 2 is a lot angrier.

This season has more of an overarching narrative than the first. Some episodes even have cliffhangers that directly lead into the next one. Season 1 told mostly standalone stories disconnected from one another, but the show’s sophomore outing has a loose, overarching storyline tying the whole season together. At the beginning of the season, Vince’s Uncle James has just passed away. Season 2 has a lot of the same random non-sequiturs that made season 1 feel so refreshing, but it keeps coming back to that unifying theme of grief as they process the loss, plan the funeral, and settle his affairs.

There’s more of a horror bent this season. The first season was pure comedy, but this one deals with paranormal activity and murderous cults. Vince sees the ghost of his dead uncle everywhere he turns, he gets stranded at a gas station that he suspects is run by cannibals, and he has to stay in a big, empty house where things go bump in the night. In season 2, The Vince Staples Show is as much of a horror thriller series as it is a comedy.

The Vince Staples Show Season 2 Is An Unhinged Satire Of Race In America

Vince Runs Afoul Of An All-White Cult Obsessed With “Black Excellence”

Season 1 didn’t really comment on the show itself, but season 2 has lots of great self-referential gags. At one point, a valet asks Vince when the second season of his show will be out, and Vince tells him, “We’re filming it right now.” Season 2 also continues season 1’s satire of race in America, with a reference to O.J. Simpson’s white Bronco chase and an unhinged storyline in which Vince is inducted into the Black Icon Guild, where Black celebrities are being honored by a strange all-white cult led by a man known as “Massa.”

Vanessa Bell Calloway continues to steal every scene she’s in as Vince’s no-nonsense mom, Anita, but The Vince Staples Show’s second season isn’t as tight as the first. Season 1 didn’t waste a second. Every episode was jam-packed with gags, and some of them even fell short of the 20-minute mark. The episodes never went on for too long; if anything, they felt a few minutes too short. But season 2 doesn’t have the same airtight writing or economical editing; it drags out a lot of moments for too long, and runs some of its gags into the ground.

The soundtrack is still one of the show’s greatest assets. Staples’ background is in music, so he cultivates the exact right musical vibe for his self-titled series. The soundtrack has a light touch; it’s easygoing and to the point, much like the show’s signature deadpan humor. Season 2 recaptures that vibe for the most part, although it goes off the rails a bit in the finale. Vince suddenly becomes a gun-toting John Wick with legions of henchmen coming after him, leaving the show’s grounded roots in the rearview mirror for some full-blown high-octane action.

In its second season, The Vince Staples Show is still one of the best shows on Netflix. It’s as funny and charming as its title star, it’s as wonderfully surreal as Atlanta, and it breaks away from the usual format of a conventional TV comedy. Season 2 is darker, scarier, and longer in the tooth than season 1, but all those things are still true.