ATLANTA — Deon Cole is best known for his comedic chops both as a writer for Conan O’Brien and as an actor on shows like “black-ish” and “Angie Tribeca.”
But the 51-year-old Chicago native finds his dramatic flair in the tensely engaging action series “Average Joe” on BET+, which debuted in June.
Cole plays Joe Washington, an “average Joe” suburban plumber in Pittsburgh whose recently deceased father lived a secret life as a drug mule and stole $10 million and a Lamborghini from dangerous Russian mafia dealers. Now those people think Joe has the money so he has to quickly figure out what’s going on and also find the cash.
The seemingly far-fetched story is supposedly based on creator Robb Cullen’s life but Cullen, due to the writers’ strike, has declined interviews and has not detailed what aspects of his life are embedded in the series.
“This situation just falls in his lap and it goes from there,” said Cole in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before the strike began. “It’s a darkly comedic intense drama. ... My goal was to make him feel as real as possible so people watching can identify with him.”
Joe ends up having to cover up some misdeeds of his own and scramble to keep what he did from his family while also trying to find the money his dad hid as well. “Chaotic situations become normal,” Cole said.
Indeed, in episode two, Joe explains the situation to his skeptical wife, then says, “It sounds insane but it’s actually true!”
Unfortunately, without giving too much away, his wife and teen daughter as well as his two childhood friends, hardware store owner Leon (Malcolm Barrett) and alcoholic cop Touch (Michael Trucco), get wrapped up in the mystery.
“There is a familial aspect to these characters who are all average, blue-collar guys,” said Trucco (“Battlestar Galactica,” “Fire Country”), who, even though he’s a cop, jumps into this ridiculous caper for his own personal reasons.
The character who gets the biggest kick out of this absurd situation is Leon’s wife Cathy (played with delightful abandon by Cynthia Kaye McWilliams) who is obsessed with true crime dramas and provides no shortage of comic relief amid the chaos.
“I love me some Cathy,” said McWilliams. “She’s like Peg Bundy meets Mary J. Blige. She is a housewife who is over her life and over her husband. Usually, when there’s a money crisis, it brings out the worst in people. In a weird way, this brings out the best in Cathy.”
In fact, the crisis gets their sex life back into gear, if anything. “It’s a catalyst to bring them together because they have to cut through the [expletive],” Barrett said.
The series, though set in Pittsburgh, was shot in metro Atlanta last fall and winter. “There was a certain kind of bleakness that fit the tone of the show,” Trucco said.
The show is getting strong reviews. John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal lauds: “It never spreads itself too thin. And the story never slows down.”
Daniel Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter compares “Average Joe” favorably to the Netflix show “Ozark,” which was also shot in Atlanta.
“It’s an easily digestible genre offering that wouldn’t be completely out of place on an FX or Netflix, plus the ensemble is really solid,” he wrote, giving plaudits to both Barrett and McWilliams.
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“Average Joe” has three episodes available now, with new ones out every Thursday for BET+ subscribers.
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