Little Voice Review: A Little Show With Something Big To Say (Season 1 Episodes 1-3)
Bess King’s life is… chaotic (let’s side-step the obvious rhyme).
When we meet her on Little Voice Season 1 Episode 1, “I Don’t Know,” she has at least four paying jobs that don’t involve playing a setlist of original music for crowds. Busking and minding her brother Louie as he attempts to navigate his life independently (we’ll get to him later) makes six — but I’m definitely leaving out a few responsibilities.
It’s a wonder she finds time to pee, let alone write her own songs, but she does.
Bess writes on dog walks in the rain. She writes lyrics on her hands while teaching kids piano. She writes in her sanctuary — a magical storage unit lit up by Christmas tree lights and filled with hope.
Everyone needs to lay off of her when it comes to performing original material. Bombing is traumatizing.
Bess’s life moves at the speed of Manhattan, so the vibes of the city come through on the screen even if the setting doesn’t. But Little Voice is filmed in New York City, so it’s as authentic as can be.
Little Voice‘s stories are as diverse as its city requires, but it’s not until Episode 3, “Dear Hope,” that we can even begin to understand the change that Bess and her friends are trying to bring to their lives and, quite frankly, to representation on television.
Prisha is an Indian lesbian woman who only comes out to her best friend involuntarily because she gets injured by a jerk committing a hate crime.
We need more LGBTQIA representation on TV overall, but we’re going to be watching Prisha’s coming out journey and that could help someone else who is struggling to come out to parents with traditional views of marriage.
Prisha’s story is slightly jarring. She tells Bess she thinks that getting injured is a “sign” she shouldn’t come out to her parents, but they’re the sweetest.
They naturally speak Jeopardy! in everyday life. Who has the cutest parents on TV for $200, Alex? Prisha does.
She’s the person getting in the way of her own happiness the most — perhaps that’s why she and Bess are best friends. Similarities attract in this case. Hopefully, they’ll both listen to each other eventually.
We need to talk about Louie, because he’s one of the best parts of Little Voice and he’s played by Kevin Valdez, an autistic actor.
Creators Sara Bareilles, Jessie Nelson, and J.J. Abrams’ intentions are crystal clear because of decisions like this. Little Voice brings true inclusion to TV, and as Louie would say: “Wonder of wonders!” What a sight it is.
I’m not autistic but as a disabled TV writer, I say that not because I find Louie’s story sweeter or more inspiring than anyone should.
Quite frankly, it’s vital for some people to see. Maybe a young autistic child will understand that they could live independently of their caregivers one day from watching Louie’s story, or get a job even though it will be hard. Maybe they’ll simply see that other autistic people have hard days, too.
Whatever autistic viewers see through Louie that helps them is why representation matters.
But serious issues aside, Louie’s love of the theater fits into Little Voice so perfectly! I wonder what he thinks of the 2016 show Waitress — just saying.
Bess and Louie’s relationship is a rare one. Bess isn’t his parent, their father is alive and he remembers his mother.
She’s definitely a caregiver of sorts, but that doesn’t replace the fact that she’s his sister. She literally calls out his bullshit, takes his advice in order to keep her job, and plays with him to comfort him. That’s what siblings do.
The scene where they act out Peter Pan is the best on Little Voice so far. It has whimsical vibes in both the present and the past and wouldn’t we all love to escape our lives and escape to Neverland?
It’s not the most conventional way to cheer a young man up, but it’s the King way and that’s what matters.
The elements of Little Voice that sell it on the surface are not what make it shine. But, we have to talk about Bess as a songwriter.
Of course she’s wonderful, Bareilles is one of her ghostwriters. Her original songs are full of meaningful lyrics and beautiful melodies. But not even “Dear Hope,” written after a horrible day out of desperation for the songwriting contest, feels like it’s sprinkled with enough magic.
Bess’s world is full of beautiful music almost everywhere she looks and I’m eager for something to take my breath away. I just don’t know what I’m waiting for.
Perhaps Bess would do well to ignore Ethan and focus on her music. Who bonds with someone for a whole night in a storage facility without mentioning the girlfriend they recently moved to Manhattan with?
A lie like that is a huge red flag, especially if it only takes you one night to develop feelings for the guy.
Ethan is just a distraction that Bess doesn’t need; with all respect to Sean Teale, who does a great job in the role and is very handsome, he’s also a character Little Voice uses as a security blanket.
Like its heroine uses 80’s covers out of fear of singing original songs, Little Voice is hiding behind a romance.
Bess and Little Voice have more to say than they know, if only they stop hiding.
What did you think of these episodes of Little Voice? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Little Voice airs Fridays on Apple TV+.
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Esme Mazzeo
Esme Mazzeo is a lifestyle and entertainment journalist from Long Island. When she's not writing for work, she's writing for fun, or searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth. She thinks rainy days are the best kind of days. Certified night owl.