Controversial American comedian Shane Gillis (he was a Saturday Night Live cast member for about five minutes, for reasons you can read about here) takes a stab at the ol’ workplace sitcom bit with this amiable, mildly offensive, undemanding one-liner factory set in an auto garage.
How to watch Tires in New Zealand
All six episodes of Tires are streaming in New Zealand exclusively on Netflix right now.
Tires: Season 1
What is Tires about?
We set our scene in the family business of Valley Forge Tires, which long-suffering everyman Will has just inherited. The business is struggling, but Will has plans to get the old joint back on its financial feet. Of course, he doesn’t count on the “assistance” of his lazy, anarchic, sharp-tongued cousin, Shane. Hijinks ensue. Gillis has made “provocative” comedy his brand, so expect a certain frat boy flavour to the proceedings.
The cast of Tires
Shane Gillis is Shane, as you no doubt have deciphered; Steve Gerben is Will, Chris O’Connor is Cal, Kilah Fox is Kilah, and Stavros Halkias is Dave.
This one has an interesting production history. Gillis shot a pilot back in 2019, and up until recently it was available on his YouTube channel. He then stumped for an entire six episode season, which Netflix subsequently bought. So in terms of self-funded creators, he’s up there with Francis Ford Coppola and Kevin Costner. If you squint a bit.
Tires trailer
What are the critics saying about Tires?
They’re pretty mixed on this one, but all seem to agree that Tires is pretty low effort and by the numbers. The deciding factor is whether you dig Gillis’s schtick or not. Our own Luke Buckmaster was fairly unimpressed, noting that the series “feels vaguely out of step with current culture, and that’s exactly the point. The creators want to push the envelope but not too much.” However the show has been renewed for a second series, so clearly somebody’s digging it.
