Bad Thoughts Review
Director: Tom Segura, Rami Hachache, Jeremy Konner
Date Created: 2025-05-13 22:15
2.5
Bad Thoughts Review: If you enjoy off-the-grid TV that explores the ridiculousness of comedy, then this series is worth your time. This new Netflix series was created by comedian Tom Segura, who also stars in most of the short stories that make up the series. It is six episodes long, each around 20 minutes, and each episode consists of three different segments, all of which are filled with outrageous and cringeworthy humour. The series is directed by Rami Hachache, Jeremy Konner, and Segura. The cast is filled with faces known to the world of comedy, including Bobby Lee, Daniella Pineda, Arturo Castro, Rachel Bloom, Robert Iler, Christina Pazsitzky, and others.
Technically speaking, Netflix’s Bad Thoughts does not follow one narrative. Rather, it is a series of disconnected tales, some awful, and some simply disgusting. The notion, apparently, is to test the outer limits of human behaviour and imagination, however disgusting or degrading it becomes.
Bad Thoughts Review
The biggest shock to me was the creativity of some of the stories. Segura and his crew must have worked day and night to make sure that each segment was unique. There were a couple that had me laughing out loud, not just because they were funny, but because they were so ridiculous that I couldn’t even believe that Netflix actually aired this series.
Like, there’s one scene that’s completely a spy spoof, where the sombre mood is broken by kids’ jokes. It’s that kind of off-the-wall humour that makes you go, “Did they really do that?” But somehow or other, that’s what makes it work, the bravery to be completely daft.
Another set of work that unexpectedly succeeded was an office culture satire using virtual reality and petty vengeance. Without revealing too much, it was a clever way of showing how ridiculous office politics could become, but it was framed in over-the-top actions and coarse humour. These pieces, though in excess, were clever in depth, and I liked that.
Also, the level of production over the course of the series is excellent. Even the most absurd moments are done professionally, with good visuals, props, and attention to detail. That is what makes the comedy work so that the absurd stories appear slightly plausible. And of course, Tom Segura’s acting — whether desperate guy, a crazed bad guy, or a crazed action hero — is committed. Even when the punchline doesn’t work, he is committed.
While there are some nice laughs and some humour, I would not say that I really enjoyed it. A lot of the problem is that Tom Segura’s Bad Thoughts tries too hard to be shocking. A lot of it appears to exist only because it can be offensive or anything else that is gross and nothing more, and little else occurs in it. It is draining, especially when it appears that the shock value is being achieved through losing sight of good storytelling or respectful humour.
Also Read: The Match Review: Powerful Performances Overshadowed by a Complex Game
One of the pieces was about an ageing rockstar trying to revive his career in desperate manners. The idea was great initially, but the bit dragged on, and it was exhausting. The punchline never arrived, and I just sat waiting for the piece to end. Another piece involving children acting in a school play was creepy and humorous, but even that crossed some of my own personal limits, I didn’t think were needed.
There was one segment that parodied horror movies in a clumsier-than-humorous way. I do know that it was attempting to satirise the genre, but the effort was clumsier than humorous, and I also know that the Bad Thoughts series is trying to be edgy, but not everything that dark humour can do is effective because it’s supposed to be.
There’s another one that is about a woman who is dying and her strange last request that just never really seemed real to me. Maybe someone else was laughing at it, enjoying it, but I was not being sympathetic and was too concerned with making the audience cringe.
Summing Up
Overall, I didn’t love the dark comedy series Bad Thoughts, but I didn’t hate it. It had flashes of raw brilliance, of off-colour humour, and it never stopped finding the humour in terrible things. But it did it too many times with too much shock value, and not enough respect to make people feel like they are part of the universe.
Bad Thoughts 2025 is now streaming on Netflix.
Also Read: Blood of Zeus Season 3 Review: Gods, Monsters, and a Rushed Goodbye
