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This review was made possible by early screeners of Season 2 of The Big Door Prize. The first 3 episodes of Season 2 of The Big Door Prize premieres on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, April 24th followed by weekly episodes every Wednesday.
If you’re missing the warm embrace of shows like Ted Lasso and Shrinking, then I implore to bring The Bring Door Prize in and hold it tight. The series fits the mold of Apple TV+ and their patented genre of feel good but gut-punching emotional comedies. The show was created by David West Read (Producer of Schitt’s Creek) and is based on the book of the same name by M.O. Walsh. The small town of Deerfield is changed forever when a mysterious machine called MORPHO appears in the local grocery store that reveals everyone’s true life potential. Potentials printed on cards that have the residents rethinking their lives, relationships, careers and sole purpose in life.
DESTINY? AWAITS
The series is lead by the Hubbard family: Dusty (Chris O’Dowd) the father, Cass (Gabrielle Dennis) the mother and Trina (Djouliet Amara) the daughter. While Trina is dealing with the loss of her boyfriend and secretly dating his twin brother Jacob (Sammy Fourlas), her parents live a seemingly content and happy life together. That’s until the MORPHO machine changes everything. Completely skews the perception of content and happiness and has begged the question is destiny real? Or do we have a choice to pave our own path?
So, what is the difference between destiny and potential. Destiny is the path that was meant for you, there’s no changing your destiny. But potential is the best possible outcome, completely determined on the choices you make on said path. Basically destiny infers that there is only one set path totally out of our control, while potential gives us endless possibly paths that we solely dictate the direction of.
THE NEXT STAGE
Season 2 dives into the “Next Stage” of the MORPHO machine. You insert your card and the machine plays animated visions, asking more questions than giving them answers. Next Stage is a great theme for this second season as new relationships begin to form and old ones change forever. The cast is rounded out with Giorgio (Josh Segarra), the overly zealous and loud owner of the local restaurant humbly named after himself. Cass’s mother and town mayor, Izzy (Crystal Fox) who’ have’s controlling tendencies strain the daughter relationship. Cass’s best friend Nat (Mary Holland), the town preist Father Reuben (Damon Gupton) and town newcomer who has a mystery past with the MORPHO machine Hana (Ally Maki).
This series beautifully takes you through this whacky sci-fi concept and makes it grounded with deeply personal journeys that are all so unique to the characters while also weaving them together into a cocoon ready for metamorphosis. This doesn’t mean every choice taken is the right one and it makes the series all the more pertinent to our daily lives. As the down completes the next stage, I can only hope we get to see what comes next for this small town.
The Big Door Prize feels like the brother series to Ted Lasso. While helmed by a different creative team, it captures the human essence that sucks you in with it’s relatable characters and life situations. It’s quick thirty minute episodes always seem to leave you with the feeling of wanting to more. To spend more time with the residents of Deerfield and what they do next in this complicated game we call life. It also leave you thinking about your own life’s potential. What more can you do to achieve your goals? Enhance your relationships? Live a more fulfilling life? While I don’t have the answer to all that, one thing is for certain, the only one in control is you.
