How to With John Wilson (not TV, HBO)

[tommy]

This show is back. Go watch it.

[dad]

I've been meaning to give this another shot.

I should say that I did like it. I just never finished watching the first season. I don't even know what season it is now.

[The Argonaut]

I had a hard time with season 2. What felt very serendipitous in season 1 felt very constructed in season 2. In season 1, he pulled off making me feel like he just happens to stumble across odd characters and events. But in season 2, it often felt like he had gone looking for odd characters or events, written a narrative around them, and then went and filmed and put it together

Part of it is that it became a bigger project, I think. Season one is basically John. Season 2 is a full writing staff and multiple people on the street collecting footage.

Another problem is the Nic Pizzolato True Detective problem. Pizzolato had been working on season one for years and then all of a sudden it's a hit and he's asked to pump out a second season. That's a lot of content to create so quickly. Of course season two blows. John Wilson had kind of been collecting images and stories for the first six episodes for years. For season 2, it's all new.

Just felt a bit artificial in a bad way, and kind of repetitive

[contamination]

I had a hard time with season 2. What felt very serendipitous in season 1 felt very constructed in season 2. In season 1, he pulled off making me feel like he just happens to stumble across odd characters and events. But in season 2, it often felt like he had gone looking for odd characters or events, written a narrative around them, and then went and filmed and put it together

Part of it is that it became a bigger project, I think. Season one is basically John. Season 2 is a full writing staff and multiple people on the street collecting footage.

Another problem is the Nic Pizzolato True Detective problem. Pizzolato had been working on season one for years and then all of a sudden it's a hit and he's asked to pump out a second season. That's a lot of content to create so quickly. Of course season two blows. John Wilson had kind of been collecting images and stories for the first six episodes for years. For season 2, it's all new.

Just felt a bit artificial in a bad way, and kind of repetitive

This is how I feel too. I'm not super exited about the 3rd season but might check it at some point.