I was very excited about the release of Turn Up Charlie. A big fan of Idris Elba, I was ready for the laughs and the drama. Unfortunately, though it's not terrible, it's not great either. The idea of the series is simple. Charlie lives with his aunt in London. A DJ by trade, he had one big hit a few years back but that's the sum total of his success professionally.
The problem is that his parents think he's a big shot. And they also think that he still with his fiance (he's not). Trying to avoid disappointing them and in desperate need of money, he agrees to be a nanny. Not just any nanny, but childminder to the daughter of his childhood friend who's a big Hollywood hotshot. The hotshot in question is David, a deeply insecure actor who is bombing in his latest West End play. He is married to American DJ Sara and they have just returned to the UK with their child Gabrielle.
Suffering from years of being half neglected and ignored by her parents Gabrielle is quite the handful. But in need of a job, Charlie agrees to look after her. With the added bonus of being able to use Sara's in-home music studio. This, he hopes, will help re-build his career as a DJ.
The premise of Turn up Charlie is good. The problem is that it's not funny enough to be a comedy or serious enough to be a drama. And the combo of both just doesn't seem to work. Not like it does on the show The Ranch. And, for a show with only eight episodes, it doesn't exactly move along at breakneck speed. Plus there is genuinely no plot to speak of at all.
But for all that, it is quite light-hearted and easy to watch. It's good to see Idris Elba in a more comedic role and parts of it are funny. Other than that, it won't challenge you in any way but sometimes that's exactly what you need!
