‘Moonbeam City’ Recap And Review: ‘Miami Vice’ Meets ‘Archer’ In Comedy Central’s New Series

“Tonight, Moonbeam City is under siege at the hands of a petty thug turned warlord. He turned $42 of purse money into a veritable empire of drug trafficking, arms dealing and infant neglecting.” El Diablo Malo is the name of the man terrorizing TV stores across the city, and only one person is brave enough to confront “The Bad Devil.” That man is Dazzle (Rob Lowe). He may have the courage, but he lacks the marksmanship to hit the thief. Nor does he have the sense bring extra bullets. Nor does he know that you cannot ask your opponent for his bullets. And so El Diablo Malo is able to get away within the first moments of the series premiere of Comedy Central’s Moonbeam City.

‘Moonbeam City’ Review and Recap

Moonbeam City is a stylish attempt on fans of the Archer series on FX. It has all the necessary elements: the narcissistic, lead crime fighter with a weakness for the opposite sex, an obvious sexual tension between the lead and his coworkers and an incompetence that pays off in the end. Chrysalis (Kate Mara) is a secretary who is ready to leave behind the world of fetching coffee to join Dazzle to take down the city’s bad guys. But is she self-obsessed enough to be a real hero?

Dazzle is sitting in a contemporary, spartan office getting grilled by his boss, played by Elizabeth Banks. As a result of his fumble on the job, he gets stripped of his gun, his knives, and his nap-nook. He even gets stripped of his strippers who are only in the meeting because he paid for 48 hours.

He oddly was not taken off the job and goes to track down El Diablo Malo with Chrysalis in tow. He leaves her in the stake-out van while he plays arcade games and she has to listen while he has a casual encounter with stranger in a janitors closet. Dazzle is all wrapped up in the moment when a shootout breaks out near the van and he gets chewed out all over again by Pizzaz.

Dazzle is later captured by his nemesis, Rad (Will Forte), and is cuffed to a furnace while Rad takes his dinner reservation. They escape courtesy of Chrysalis and drive a speedboat into the Chinatown shopping square where El Diablo Malo is hosting a celebration under the guise of an old Asian man. SPOILER: El Diablo Malo dies in the attack.

Will Dazzle and his former secretary “comprende” gain the approval of fans, or will they see through its neon charms to the cheap Archer knock-off that it is? In any case, the show is good for some laughs and the music is catchy. Fans who enjoy Miami Vice in an ironic way and will be sure to find the show fun and clever.

Moonbeam City airs Wednesdays at 10:30 pm.

Pictured: Dazzle, voiced by Rob Lowe.