AppleTV+'s newest comedy "Government Cheese" is quirky and hilarious

The Real Perspectives

April 16, 2025

AppleTV+

"Government Cheese" is the hilarious satirical comedy that premiered today on AppleTV+ with four of its ten episodes. Set in San Fernando Valley in 1969, the series stars David Oyelowo, the multi-award nominated actor best known for Selma as Hampton Chambers, freshly released from prison who returns to a family he barely knows.

Created by Paul Hunter and Aeysha Carr and directed by Øystein Karlsen, the series follows the Chambers, a quirky family pursuing lofty and seemingly impossible dreams, beautifully unfettered by the realities of the world. When Hampton Chambers is released from prison, his long-awaited family reunion doesn't go quite as he'd planned. During his absence, Hampton's wife, Astoria, and sons, Einstein and Harrison, have formed an unconventional family unit, and Hampton's return spins his family into a world of chaos.

The cast includes:

• David Oyelowo

• Simone Missick

• Jahi Di'Allo Winston

• Evan Ellison

• Bokeem Woodbine

• Jeremy Bobb

• Louis Cancelmi

• Julien Heron

• Djilali Rez-Kallah

• Louis Ferreira

• Thomas Beaudoin

• Kyle Mac

• John Ortiz

• Adam Beach

You don't want to miss Oyelowo and Missick's performances in a comedy that never takes itself too seriously. It's funny and quirky, and underneath the comedy, the series is about a well-intended family man who wants to achieve the American dream with his dreams of a self-sharpening power drill making it big. The jokes right themselves with zany moments, family dysfunction, and mobsters thrown into the mix. "Government Cheese," to which the title refers, is a refreshing comedy that hopefully does not get bypassed when looking for a series for a good laugh.  

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The first four episodes are available to stream exclusively on AppleTV+, with new episodes released on Wednesdays through its finale on May 28.

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