Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Harper House’ on Paramount+, a Zany Adult Animated Sitcom About an Upper-Class Family That’s Movin’ on Down

I’m old enough to remember when primetime adult-oriented animated series were so novel, many of us watched and praised Family Guy indiscriminately (and probably regretted it later). Now, such things are common enough that Paramount+’s The Harper House is just another one thrown on top of the pile — which means it has to work harder to distinguish itself among the many wacky-family sitcoms by delivering the funny hot and fast. Let’s see if it succeeds.

THE HARPER HOUSE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Live your vintage dreams in this lovely Victorian-era home that’s a handyman’s delight! Snuggled in cozy on a block that’s close to a little bit of everything, including wildlife, this classic two-story is chock-full of character and just waiting for a family to make it all its own!

The Gist: The Harpers pull up in front of the house pulling a trailer piled with their belongings. Debbie (voice of Rhea Seehorn) is always wearing shorts, but she wears the pants. Freddie (Jason Lee) is a stay-at-home dad, and his mustache and stupid bowl cut and fannypack just scream MILLENNIAL. Their kids are Todd (Ryan Flynn), showing shades of Eddie Munster, and his fraternal twin sis Ollie (Tatiana Maslany), forever wearing a bucket hat. They used to live among the private schools and country clubs of the South Side of River Creek, but now they’re fresh to the multiethnic North Side. Debbie lost her job as an engineer, prompting the move, but she and Freddie haven’t told the kids the truth yet. No, Todd and Ollie believe the moderately dilapidated, knickknack-cluttered house bequeathed to them by Aunt Maggie is their “summer home.” Heaps of dust adorn the ceiling fans. Possums are going full Grey Gardens in the crawlspace. Aunt Maggie’s shriveled corpse lies in one of the beds, wearing S&M cuffs. Neat!

Debbie’s temporarily employed by her “Daddy Dan” at his awning shop, where her sister shows up to rub Debbie’s face in her failures. It’s gotten so bad, Debbie’s father disinvites them from watching Wrestlemonium 40 at the country club because they’re no longer members. Yes, the Harpers are a Wrestling Family. Pray for them. On her way home, she meets her Vietnamese neighbors, who run a convenience store. She buys Paper Hat booze with some wadded-up singles and a handful of coins, because she can’t afford the top-shelf stuff anymore. The concept of not watching their beloved wrestling pay-per-view would leave the Harper family crestfallen if Debbie didn’t have a convoluted plan to steal cable by running a line all the way across town to the country club, which is something any mother would do for her family.

Meanwhile, Freddie calls the authorities to take care of the body. An exterminator quotes him $300, so his alternative possum solution is to load the crawlspace with mothballs, which of course are so odiferous, everyone gets high as the moon. The Harpers invite some of their new neighbors over, and Freddie so overeagerly greets the Black family, led by dad Gbenge (Gary Anthony Williams), he’s accused of “treating them like a trophy.” Of course, Debbie’s illicit cable-TV thievery backfires, causing a citywide blackout, so no Wrestlemonium for them. Too bad, because if they still lived in their old neighborhood, they’d be at the country club, where the generators hum and all the white people get to watch grown men in tights pretend-fight each other. Life is pain.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The Harper House’s wacky-family shenanigans is an arranged marriage of Family Guy’s edgy crassness and Bob’s Burgers’ goofy sweetness.

Our Take: When the Harper family inevitably powwows to overcome the situational hurdles presented in this episode, their rallying cry is “Aaannnnnndd BREAK BALLS!” That neatly sums up their dynamic — this family is in it together for the long haul, but any sentiment will be cut with astringent. Debbie is gregarious and lets it all hang out, even when it’s all not particularly good. Freddie is a noodle bending to the whims of his wife’s sauciness. Todd is an aloof snob. Ollie is a full-blown weirdo (in the second episode, she makes a pet out of a tick and lets it gorge on her blood). It’s them against the world.

This isn’t exactly an original concept, but The Harper House might end up getting by on its robust enthusiasm. Which is a way of saying that it delivers just enough laughs — a couple big ones, plenty of amused smirks — to overcome its familiarities and weaknesses. Debbie is a loveable, durable lukewarm-mess with an infectious DILLIGAF attitude, like a neo-femme Homer Simpson with the smarts to balance out her loose-nuttiness; she’s complex and funny enough to anchor the series. Visually, the animation is cheery but indistinct; tonally, the writing indulges its share of ribaldry and profanity, and dabbles in social satire that hasn’t quite set its hook yet. Those of us who feel left behind by Family Guy’s vulgarity and tiresome rapid-fire cutaway gags may find solace in The Harper House. It may also scratch itches until the utterly wonderful Bob’s Burgers returns — or maybe even for King of the Hill fans who still feel the empty hole of its absence.

Sex and Skin: None in the first episode, although it’s heavily implied that dear old Aunt Maggie was far kinkier than anyone ever knew.

Parting Shot: The camera zooms out of the old house and we watch through the front door as the Harpers lovingly enact their own Wrestlemonium on the floor.

Sleeper Star: Roberta Colindrez voices Debbie’s close friend Tonya, who shows a marked ability to cut through the crap and deliver a withering one-liner.

Most Pilot-y Line: Todd sums up the concept: “This slide from upper-middle-class to lower-middle class is a pain in the ass.”

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Harper House has plenty of curb appeal: Goofy characters, real-life sentiment, a mildly acidic tone. It probably won’t be the best house on the block, but it’s funny enough to warrant taking in a few more episodes.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream The Harper House on Paramount+