'Why? With Hannibal Buress' pilot review: Answering some questions, asking some more

Aiming wide and narrow, it’s not particularly clear yet what exactly comedian Hannibal Buress wants to do with his first solo show, Why? With Hannibal Buress based on yesterday’s premiere.

It’s dry and broad, random and politically driven, and doesn't make any big points or messages in its first 22-minute. But as a comedian with precise, calculated timing and maliciously-developed delivery, it’s likely the show’s pilot is just the the slightest peak into what The Eric Andre Show and Broad City star inspires to make with his brand-spanking new Comedy Central program.

Borrowing, directly and not, from formulas established on-and-off the station, from The Daily Show to Tosh.0 to The Soup to The Nightly Show to Last Week Tonight to Inside Amy Schumer, just to name a handful, Why? is a bit of a hodgepodge. There’s no direct mold from which Buress gives his show shape, as he tries to take a little bit of everything from the modern comedy buffet and figure out what works and doesn’t with his off-beat style. So far it seems like it’s something of a fixer-up, with some moments working pretty well and others completely falling flat. But is that just part of the bigger plan?

At the moment, even Buress doesn’t appear certain of what he wants his creation to be. In addition to cutting-and-pasting from various talents before him, the comic also brings in a few high-profile names to guide him along. Appearances from Amy Schumer, Conan O’Brien and James Corden introduce him into his new Comedy Central half-hour, and while O’Brien’s appearance works in just the way he should on top of the episode, the others don’t add much and mostly just drag things to a halt. Schumer’s bit goes on far too long for its own good and without sufficient direction, and Corden’s there mostly just for a quick hello-and-goodbye that’s nice but doesn’t add or take anything away. These appearances mostly feel too forced, and at the moment it's not clear if this is meant to be a regular thing or just a nice way to guide us into this introduction. They don’t fit in the groove Buress somewhat established, and appear more distracting than anything else.

But with Buress trying his hand at sketch comedy, timely commentary on the Women’s World Cup and Greece, and also incorporating Twitter into the mix, the first half of this pilot isn't quite surefooted even with these assorted cameos. Only when Buress just lets himself go head-on into his indirect silliness — whether its him showing his "audition tape" for The Daily Show, trying out a cop routine he saw online on the road to explosive results or celebrating the 8th of July in the way he feels most fit — only in these final 10-or-12 minutes does Why? finally captures the spunk and downgraded insanity Buress handles best.

For when Why? gets funny, it’s pretty funny. If — like Daniel Tosh — Buress can channel an unforgivably unconventional style of his own on his own, the show will undoubtedly find itself in the process. It’s clear this isn’t meant to be the next Daily Show (hence why it’s weekly) or Key & Peele or Eric Andre Show. This is entirely Buress, doing exactly what he wants in just the way he wants to do it. What’s not clear is what the star wants to do with his power. He’s hilarious enough to make it work, though, and hopefully he can find a comedy show to work around his particular set of comedy. There's no question as to why Buress should have his own show, but how he plans to make it work is a question left unanswered.

Image courtesy of ACE/INFphoto.com

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