Dead Pixels Series Review: A Simple, Palatable Sitcom With No Lofty Ambitions

Director: Aditya Mandala

Writer: Akshay Poolla

Cast: Niharika Konidela, Akshay Lagusani, Harsha Chemudu, Sai Ronak and Bhavana Sagi

Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar

Like every work of fiction, Dead Pixels too demands us to suspend our disbelief to a certain degree. By now, we are accustomed to seeing the heroes in our films making goons fly with a punch while their well-ironed clothes and neatly groomed hair stay untouched even after the heavy combat. But Dead Pixels is 100% accurate on the physics front, the disbelief it expects you to suspend leans towards psychology and lifestyle. The characters are privileged, well-earning youngsters whose reality is a role-playing game named Battle of Thrones. For those unversed in the gaming world and the insane levels of dedication and addiction among gamers, Dead Pixels is likely to make little sense to you initially. 

The obsession of Gayathri (Niharika Konidela), Bhargav (Akshay Lagusani), and Anand (Harsha Chemudu) with gaming feels unreal early on but that’s exactly the point the show is trying to make. For instance, when Bhargav goes to the supermarket to buy groceries, he ends up having a passionate chat about his gaming aspirations with the cashier; Gayathri gets offended when she spots a co-passenger on the bus wearing a gaming t-shirt despite not being a gamer. “Don’t tell me you played Candy Crush and Snake,” she asserts with an entitlement while lecturing the poor girl. To top it all, Anand, a pilot, logs into the game from the aeroplane’s cabin and causes momentary panic among the fliers! You see, the series leaves no stone unturned in establishing how intense their obsession with the game is. But it’s not all serious. With abundant humour in its arsenal, the series does a pretty good job of portraying these characters’ fixation with the game and how it has rendered them delusional and incapable of leading a normal life. That’s what makes Dead Pixels work. It’s decidedly over-the-top and silly but is endearing in equal bits.

Dead Pixels, an adaptation of the British sitcom of the same name, consists of six episodes, with a palatable runtime of 25-30 minutes each. The format makes the series an effortless watch. Not a single episode overstays its welcome because the makers are aware that tiny conflicts (non-existent at times) do not warrant a longer runtime. The focus is barely on the story here and more on the vibe and the characters. It does take time to get used to the theatrical and cartoonish nature of the characters though. You might question why they are so obsessed with the game and have the proclivity to blow things out of proportion. It’s a fair doubt. And part of the unrealistic vibe is attributed to the fact that we are not used to seeing a show like this set in our milieu or characters speaking our language. When we see these characters stress trivial aspects, it makes us wonder what the big deal is. Since we are aware of this world and its characters (read: Telugu-speaking IT folks in Hyderabad), we tend to analyse it through the lens of reality but the truth is, when Chandler and Joey jumped in elation for buying recliners, we never questioned whether they were behaving realistically, right? Likewise, neither do the characters in Dead Pixels behave in the most sober ways. The entire show operates in such a goofy, playful zone that searching for realism in this world feels like a killjoy. Play along and Dead Pixels offers so much fun.

The show starts coming together in the third episode, titled The Wedding, which begins exploring the dynamic between flatmates and friends Bhargav and Gayathri. It’s their dynamic that keeps the show lively even if the gags become redundant after a point. Akshay and Niharika infuse just the right amount of awkwardness and sweetness to sell these characters, which are borderline caricaturish. Sai Ronak as benign Roshan—the male equivalent of the ‘beauty without brains’ trope—Gayathri’s crush, is a surprise. Gayathri acknowledging her sexual attraction to Roshan is dealt with in a completely non-judgemental way and it lends the character a personality. The show also does a neat job of tracing the arcs of the main characters—be it Anand, the family man who has to comprehend his priorities, or Bhargav who has to connect with his stringent father (Rajeev Kanakala in a short but sweet role). Dead Pixels is never cloying or melodramatic.

Being the adaptation of a British show, Dead Pixel’s choice to restrict itself to the glossy side of Hyderabad supports its cause and even lends an aspirational quality to the entire show. The characters are privileged and don’t have ‘real’ problems to worry about. They look perfectly kempt and have no eyesight issues (one of them is a pilot!) despite spending hours staring at computer monitors for hours. Suspension of disbelief, remember? Like I said, it might not be realistic but it sure is comforting. I might not remember Dead Pixels for long but it surely was a momentary escape. Does it ape the Western humour and vibe? To an extent. But it's okay to have a show like this. It fills an interesting, fun space in Telugu and I'll welcome a second season.