No one likes going to the DMV. It’s a place that’s commonly associated with the worst parts of bureaucracy, a dreaded but necessary trip to complete basic paperwork that has to be done in-person and seems to always invite an endless wait time that’s very inconvenient. If it’s that miserable for the people who have to go there to fill something out or pick something up, it stands to reason that it wouldn’t be much better for the employees who work there every day. DMV leans into traditional sitcom tropes to present a dismal vision of this grating workplace that sucks so much life out of those trapped within it.
Barbara (Molly Kearney) has been newly promoted to run her local DMV branch, and while she has a grand vision for her team, she’s not able to share it without bringing along a whole lot of stress. Colette (Harriet Dyer) is hopelessly attracted to her new coworker from New Zealand, Noa (Alex Tarrant), which gives her a reason to look forward to coming into the office each day, while Vic (Tony Cavalero), Gregg (Tim Meadows), and Ceci (Gigi Zumbado) have settled into the monotony of their jobs and the lackluster routine they can expect from every day at a place that many people consider to be hell on earth.
Though it doesn’t feature a laugh track, this sitcom feels like it could easily have been made in the 1990s. Its humor isn’t particularly sophisticated, and much of it stems from exaggerated characters who aren’t self-aware at all. Barbara is a complete caricature prone to using expressions that sound extremely sexually suggestive, but is clueless about how she comes off to other people. Vic, who projects an air of alpha-maleness, is quite gullible, Ceci is cooler and smarter than everyone around her, Gregg is just angry all the time, and Colette is far too nice to still be working in a place like this.
Despite the fact that they’re thinly-written, this ensemble does still have the potential to provide some entertainment. Their interactions with customers, including Mark Feuerstein as an angry and entitled impatient man in the pilot who doesn’t have the right forms with him, are part of the fun, but this is much more of a typical office comedy. It’s a smaller group than in other shows like The Office, with many other faces seen fleetingly, and the dynamic that exists stems from the fact that, aside from Noa, they’ve all known each other for too long. It’s certainly possible that audiences will feel the love too if this show manages to stick around long enough to grow.
Dyer, returning to American network television after American Auto, and best known for starring in the Australian series Colin from Accounts, is the heart of this show, and fortunately she’s just awkward enough to be endearing. It’s easy to relate to her even if some of her antics are over-the-top, and treating this as a show about her life – and her desperation to be liked, particularly by the new guy in the office – is a positive quality that defines her. NCIS: Hawaiʻi and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power alum Tarrant is a great romantic foil for her, and even if their relationship feels like it won’t likely come to fruition, it’s fun to watch them flail.
Meadows is a welcome presence in any project but he’s more muted and moodier here, which gives him the opportunity to deliver some decent material but he’s not nearly as entertaining as he’s been in other shows like his recent Peacemaker arc. Cavalero, fresh off an intense stint on The Righteous Gemstones, is only slightly more toned-down, while Ceci doesn’t feel as fully developed as a character even if Zumbado is bringing plenty of attitude. Kearney goes all-in on making Barbara a hopelessly overeager boss who probably shouldn’t be in charge of other people, but the character is generally irritating more than anything.
DMV isn’t trying to be a groundbreaking, innovative comedy series. It’s well-placed on CBS, a network that has continued to run successful sitcoms that hew much closer to a previously successful formula than the newer kind of comedy that has evolved over the past two decades. It’s a sturdier premise than something like ABC’s ill-conceived Cavemen, which was always fated to fail because it was just one joke. There’s much more to mine here, but its longevity and success will be dependent on whether audiences actually find it fun to visit this place where everyone is so clearly miserable.
Series Rating: 5/10
