Big Bang Theory Star’s New Comedy Is Dividing Critics & Audiences On Rotten Tomatoes

Critics and audiences are divided by the latest comedy featuring one of the main stars of The Big Bang Theory.

Between Johnny Galecki in Roseanne, Kaley Cuoco in 8 Simple Rules, Melissa Rauch in Night Court, and Simon Helberg in Poker Face, The Big Bang Theory‘s cast have done their fair share of comedies before and after their iconic sitcom ended. Cuoco has also become a frequent star of mystery thriller series with her lead roles in HBO’s The Flight Attendant, Peacock’s Based on a True Story, and most recently, MGM+’s Vanished.

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As for Helberg, his new dark comedy series The Audacity is dividing critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. The Tomatometer score is a “Certified Fresh” 78% based on 27 reviews, while the Popcornmeter score is a “Rotten” 50%. With only a few episodes released so far, the scores from critics and general audiences may fluctuate as the season continues.

The show is a darkly comedic satire exploring Silicon Valley. Helberg plays Martin Phister, an introverted and reclusive technological genius who spends all his time working on perfecting an artificially intelligent companion intended to help struggling teenagers. Other key characters include Martin’s wife, technology ethicist Anushka Bhattachera-Phister (Meagan Rath), data-thieving CEO Duncan Park (Billy Magnussen), and Tom Ruffage (Rob Cordrry), a former soldier trying to make a deal that can help his fellow war veterans.

In ScreenRant‘s The Audacity review, Nick Bythrow gives the series seven out of 10 stars and describes it as a “perfect storm of characters with agency and a story entirely driven by their actions [that] makes The Audacity a hilarious, biting commentary that refuses to play it safe.” He notes that one challenge for the show is its pacing, as “the show eventually makes everyone important, [but] it takes time for its ensemble to truly grab the spotlight.”

Many of the other positive reviews from critics note parallels to Succession, as The Audacity not only has many significant thematic similarities to the hit HBO series, but is also created by Jonathan Glatzer. He wrote multiple episodes of Succession, along with AMC’s Better Call Saul, and serves as The Audacity‘s showrunner. As with the HBO show, it revolves around mostly entitled and unlikable characters as they make greedy and shortsighted decisions.

While several of the audience reviews also draw parallels to Succession, some express frustration with The Audacity not having as compelling of a start despite a stellar cast and a premise with potential. Other critical sentiments include the series feeling outdated, being too predictable, and not being an accurate reflection of the modern tech industry.

Regardless of the divide between critics and audiences, the series was already renewed for season 2, with the announcement coming a month ahead of the premiere. Along with Helberg, Magnussen, Rath, and Cordrry, the adult cast features Sarah Goldberg as therapist JoAnne Felder, Paul Adelstein as JoAnne’s husband Dr. Gary Felder, Zach Galifianakis as tech genius Carol Bardolph, Lucy Punch as Duncan’s wife Lili Park-Hoffsteader, and Randall Park as Gabe.

The Audacity also takes time to satirize the younger generation in Silicon Valley and how they are affected by their parents’ greed and narcissism. The younger cast includes Everett Blunck as Orson Stern, Thailey Roberge as Tess Phister, and Ava Marie Telek as Jamison Park-Hoffsteader.

The Audacity releases new episodes on Sundays on AMC & AMC+.