Is Jack McBrayer Poised To Become This Generation’s Fred Rogers?

It’s not often you could get away with saying this, but forget Tom Hanks. Hollywood’s ultimate nice guy might have bagged a Golden Globe and Academy Award nod for his heart-warming portrayal of Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. In real life, though, the man who appears to be best embodying the spirit of the national treasure is Conan regular Jack McBrayer. 

As well as co-creating Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show, Apple TV+’s latest attempt to muscle in on Disney Junior’s territory, the comedian also serves as its genial host. And with a mission to teach the youngsters of America (and possibly even some of their parents) the 3 Cs – caring, connecting, cascading – and a fondness for pastel-colored knitwear, McBrayer is ideally positioned to become Generation Alpha’s answer to the saint of kids TV. 

McBrayer hasn’t tried to hide his obvious influence, freely admitting that the show was inspired by a talk at The National Association for the Education of Young Children titled What Would Fred Rogers Think About the World Right Now? (Its lecturer, Junlei Li, was subsequently tasked with the unusual role of series’ kindness and human connection expert.) And his partner-in-crime is Angela C. Santomero, an Emmy-winning children’s TV producer whose resume includes Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, an animated spin-off from Rogers’ long-running PBS favorite.

 

 

It’s not too surprising, therefore, to discover that Hello Jack! takes several cues from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Each of its seven 20-minute episodes begins with a similarly jaunty singalong, although McBrayer is seen leaving his house rather than returning to it, centers on a particular theme, and takes place in a colorful world where impossibly perky humans interact with animal characters (albeit of the digitally animated kind rather than the shabby hand puppets that populated the Neighborhood of Make Believe).

Oscar-nominated Brown Bag Films’ work inevitably lacks the ramshackle charm of Henrietta Pussycat, Princess Margaret H. Lizard and co, as does Clover Grove, the picture perfect town which looks like Apple TV+ have simply recycled the brightly-lit stagey set from another of their throwbacks, the underrated musical comedy Schmigadoon! 

However, it’s hard not to be won over by the sheer enthusiasm of its leading man. McBrayer has built a career on playing eternal optimists, from the ageless NBC page Kenneth Parcell in 30 Rock to the voice of the titular intergalactic traveler in Wander Over Yonder. But “himself” may well be the most relentlessly cheerful character to date, constantly bursting into song at the drop of a hat – like Rogers, he makes up for in warmth what he lacks in vocal prowess – and displaying a grin the size of a purple panda. Judging by this glowing account of a recent American Airlines encounter, it’s not an act, either.

McBrayer’s sunny disposition is almost matched by that of Westworld’s Albert Kong as the Hummingbird Café’s chef (speciality: strawberry vanilla smoothies), The Marvelous Miss Maisel’s Markita Prescott as the same establishment’s resident musician who can’t stop singing and relative unknown Ashley Ward as town courier Delivery Delores. Paul Scheer and Sam Richardson also make fun cameos as a hamster-adopting cyclist and pizza-loving friend, respectively – the latter’s invention of “broccolizza” is something you could quite easily imagine being marketed by his Cramblin Duvet agency in Detroiters. 

Not that the Clover Grove crew have got much to be mopey about. Rogers would famously often go to places that other kids shows wouldn’t dare: he once skillfully turned the death of his goldfish into a hugely poignant meditation on grief. And just two days after the shocking death of Robert F. Kennedy he somehow managed to explain the concept of assassination to his young audience without scarring them for life. 

The Kindness Show, however, prefers to keeps things permanently upbeat, aided by an array of lively original musical numbers from OK Go, the Grammy-nominated outfit more renowned for their expertly-choreographed promos than their rather unremarkable brand of indie-rock. The only sadness its residents have to deal with is the possible cancelation of a weekly pizza feast, although McBrayer has claimed he’d like to explore more difficult issues should a second season get the green light. 

Some parents will undoubtedly find this approach, and indeed some of the performances, a little too cloying. Still, bringing subjects such as deceased pets and murdered senators into the equation would be a slightly jarring move for a series determined to celebrate the brighter side of life. 

“There are three ways to ultimate success,” Rogers once theorized. “The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” Hello Jack! might not have the multi-generational appeal of its obvious predecessor, but there’s still much to applaud about a show which doubles down on its host’s admirable core belief. 

Jon O’Brien (@jonobrien81) is a freelance entertainment and sports writer from the North West of England. His work has appeared in the likes of Vulture, Esquire, Billboard, Paste, i-D and The Guardian.

Watch Hello Jack: The Kindness Show on Apple TV+