No TV Show Character Has Made Me Laugh Like Jared From Silicon Valley Does
For awhile, I was struggling to find a new show to binge during quarantine. I tried a few different ones but just couldn't get hooked on anything. I'm extremely picky when it comes to new shows (nothing can quite compare to Survivor or Chuck), so I was just finding a problem with everything. Enter Silicon Valley.
I had heard good things but never given it a shot. After loving the Middleditch & Schwartz improv special, I decided to give Silicon Valley a chance since Thomas Middleditch plays the main character. I am very glad I did. It took me a few episodes to get hooked. I was pretty meh through the first four or so episodes, but it really took off for me in the middle of Season 1. I've been fully invested ever since.
The plot is whatever to me. I'm obviously not fully up to speed with the tech world/start-up world, so some of the storylines and terms go over my head. But the writing and characters are just so god damn funny that it doesn't even matter. All the characters play their role, but the one guy who steals the show for me is Jared aka Donald aka OJ.
I thought I would hate him at first. I always despised Gabe in The Office and this is the same actor (Zach Woods) playing a somewhat similar character. Boy, was I wrong. It starts with him getting trapped in the shipping container in the middle of Season 1 and just gets better from there. He steals every scene he's in and has made me laugh more than any TV show character I can ever remember. I'm not a huge "laugh out loud" person, but I have audibly laughed a ton at his lines. This probably shouldn't come as a huge surprise as some haters can argue I act similarly around the Barstool office.
Him warning Dinesh that he's going to roast his chain and then proceeding to say, "Hey Dinesh, nice chain. Do you choke your mother with it when you put your penis in her butthole?" is maybe the hardest I've ever laughed at a TV scene.
Here is a compilation video showcasing his best moments, which is basically any scene that he's in.
This guy fucks.