Aziz Ansari’s ‘Master of None’ makes hilarity look effortless

Aziz Ansari’s ‘Master of None’ makes hilarity look effortless

Brian (Kelvin Yu) tries to help his dad, Peter (Clem Cheung), decide between two women he’s dating.

Another episode focuses on traditions, as Dev tries to hide the fact from his parents (Shoukath and Fatima Ansari, Aziz’s real-life parents) that he’s been secretly eating pork.

“Master of None” is hardly the first comedy to explore assimilation issues among generations of an immigrant family, but it accomplishes it so naturally that it doesn’t feel at all like a written sitcom episode.

There is only an intermittently continuing story arc in the series — mostly, events such as Dev and Rachel (Noel Wells) breaking up serve as convenient way stations between episodes.

[...] who needs a continuing plot arc when the characters are so beautifully defined and performed? “Master” is among the most character-driven shows on TV, and we’re the better for it.

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle.