Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later is dumb as hell but hilarious

If the creators of Wet Hot American Summer (WHAS for short) want to do another series after this, I have no idea what they could do. First Day of Camp was a stroke of brilliance and Ten Years Later makes sense but unless there’s some reference in the final episode that I’ve yet to come to then who knows where this universe can now go.

They could quit whilst they’re ahead, of course, but there’s so much to mine from this crazy universe that I’d be disappointed if they didn’t carry on.

As it is, the first two episodes of this new series are as dumb, silly and jam packed with comedy as the previous entries in the franchise and though there are steadily fewer reasons for the show to exist, it’s still terrifically fun to be in the company of these people.

One of the core reasons is that there’s not a huge amount of mean spiritedness on show and it feels more like Parks and Rec then any other cruder comedy shows. It’s got a lightness of tone and its silliness never feels unjustified. For example, it would’ve been a funny season anyway but the introduction of Adam Scott as a replacement for Bradley Cooper’s Ben is a stroke of genius and his mini reunion with Amy Poehler is wonderful, making the similarities to the good-natured PandR more evident.

Overall, it’s a promising start for a series that really shouldn’t exist. A sequel to a prequel series of a cult hit comedy that bombed with critics is a very strange property indeed yet 5 minutes back with these people and you realise why Netflix took the gamble.