‘This is a Gardening Show?’

By Danielle Cherry

“This is a Gardening Show” is the brainchild of actor/comedian Zach Galifianakis, with the premise mostly consisting of Galifianakis strolling in a garden and making corny jokes.  

Where to begin? This show is by far the most unique project that has come out on Netflix in recent history. It contains 16 minute episodes that all follow the same structure: interview with kids, interview with experts and application with children. 

While the structure of each episode is quick and, frankly, boring—Galifianakis’ ridiculous comedic relief makes each episode exciting and engaging. I am going to be honest, I never really cared about composting, but after this show my desire to compost has peaked, though only slightly. 

To call this a gardening show is a gross understatement to everything else that is packed in each short episode. The creators also include short segments of history, animated in a unique water color style and engaging in the absence of dialogue. 

Another impressive hallmark is the fact that the creators went the extra mile to create a theme song and opening episode intro. While completely unnecessary, and quite frankly might only be present to increase the length of each episode, there is great editing care put into each intro—making the show feel more cohesive.

But here is the real question: is there actually anything to be learned about gardening? I fear the resounding answer is no. Did I learn how to create a new apple tree? Yes. But is it useful information to me? Definitely not. 

Getting into the show, I had hoped to learn skills I could apply to my everyday life, like how to be a better green thumb or how to maybe start my own garden. Alas I was mistaken, as the topics discussed assume everybody already owns acres of land to just casually plant corn in. 

Now, despite the show teaching literally anything else besides gardening, I had a great time. Galifianakis, most renowned for his role in the “Hangover” trilogy, is a natural comedian. He truly understands comedic timing, and knows just how long to pause to make every joke that comes out of his mouth land. 

With every episode comes a new level of funny, not only in Galifianakis’ stand-alone monologues about gardening, but in the way he interacts with experts and children. While a lot of the jokes go over the children’s heads, the awkward pauses had me shaking in my seat from laughter. 

Oftentimes his jokes are borderline crude, with many censored words that create a comedic moment, but are questionable for the PG rating and interactions with small children. On top of this, Galifianakis enjoys poking fun at actors, especially Ryan Reynolds, in the Hollywood industry. 

In a particularly ridiculous comedic stunt, Ryan Reynolds appears via phone call—all to play to Galifianakis’ bit of hating on Ryan Reynolds. Coming in the last 15 seconds of the final episodes, the comedic move is genius, and reinforces the demeaning jokes throughout the series. 

While very little gardening is learned, it is clear that the vision of what this show would be was well thought through— with moments of almost blooper like clips of Galifianakis being kept in the show. This creates a level of casualness that only aided the show in its easygoing demeanor. 

The camera work was brilliant and it is clear that they hired a good videographer with nature documentary experience. Stunning close ups of crops and in-depth detail of seeds are captured in an engaging and almost grandiose way, creating a cinematic experience in some parts—creating a dichotomy between the cinema and the blooper bits. 

One other important aspect of this show is the agenda it is pushing. With Galifianakis spearheading the agenda, the whole show bashes modern culture’s movement away from an agrarian lifestyle. 

“The future is agrarian,” Galifianakis said. 

While it may be true, the set up for what people can do about it is lacking in this show, only shaming people for not engaging in farming practices while providing no tangible means of starting one. 

In many different ways Galifianakis delivers this line, being the heartbeat behind the show—most notably being delivered with disappointment towards the audience’s lack of understanding or striving to do anything about it. 

This very real push creates a very odd dynamic between the seriousness of the call and the silly nature of the show. Can I say with authority the future is agrarian? No. But what I can say is Galifianakis certainly thinks so. 

With so little information about gardening in this show, my biggest question still looms at large: how much did they have to pay Renolds to do his 15 second bit? 

“This is a Gardening Show” is currently streaming on Netflix

Danielle Cherry is a sophomore communication major and writer for Cedars A&E and Sports. She is a Missionary Kid from Germany and questions how “This is a Gardening Show” pitched itself to Netflix, and why on earth Netflix green flagged it. 

Images courtesy of RadicalMedia in association with Billios Productions