Television series

Obliterated

Name: Obliterated
Genre: Comedy, Action
Released: 2023
Cast: Shelley Hennig, Nick Zano, Terrence Terrell, Paola Lázaro, C. Thomas Howell

Military action
Relentless

Obliterated is a Las Vegas-set action comedy about a special forces team celebrating a successful mission by getting spectacularly drunk, only to discover the real threat is still active. It's *Mr. & Mrs. Smith* meets a frat party: propulsive, silly, and unapologetically committed to both big set pieces and dumb jokes. For people who want their action comedies to land the comedy part as hard as the explosions.

TVMaze rating

2.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like loud, crude buddy-action comedy where the gags land as hard as the explosions, and you don't mind a team of mostly unserious soldiers who treat a crisis like a bachelor party.

Skip it if you want sharp wit or a taut thriller, since the gags lean on juvenile crudeness and the action plays goofier than gripping.

What it asks of you: Each episode runs about fifty minutes, so eight of them go down quickly, with little patience for slow build-up and a steady stream of crude jokes that keep arriving.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

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Bullet Train2022

Brad Pitt navigating a high-concept action premise with a genuine sense of humour and lightness. The film knows exactly what it is and commits to the fun without sacrificing kinetic choreography.

But It's a clever film that occasionally mistakes cuteness for wit. If you want your comedy sharper, this might feel slight.

Red Notice2021

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But The plot is tissue-thin and the script relies on movie-star charisma to coast. Substance, it does not have.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Obliterated

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Severance2022

Both are about a team operating under compartmentalised information, and both use that structure to explore what happens when the carefully separated parts of a life collide. Severance does it as tragedy; Obliterated does it as farce.

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But It's deliberately glacial and withholding—information arrives slowly and the tone is austere rather than fun. If you need immediate gratification, it will frustrate you.

Spy Game2001

A buddy action movie where the friendship is the real plot. Robert Redford and Brad Pitt playacting their way through exotic locations and explosive sequences with genuine warmth underneath the spectacle.

But It's very much a 2005 film with period action-movie logic. The editing and pacing will feel dated to modern eyes.

Free Fire2017

Ben Wheatley's chamber-piece action film: a single warehouse shootout that runs ninety minutes. It's a perfect little watch, proving you don't need scale to make action exhilarating and darkly funny.

But The entire film is one sustained shootout with minimal plot. If you need story momentum, you'll find it claustrophobic.

Central Intelligence2016

Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart prove that an action comedy doesn't need to be clever to be entertaining. Their dynamic carries a silly premise with enough charisma to make you forgive the formula.

But It's built on a formula and makes no apologies for it. If you've seen other buddy-cop films, you know where this goes.

Knight and Day2010

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in a film that understands the appeal of watching attractive people get chased and shoot at things. It's absurd, fast, and designed to be exactly as fun as it is.

But The plot barely exists and the film seems aware of how little sense it makes. It's all surface, which some find frustrating.

Tropic Thunder2008

An action-comedy that goes after its own genre with real teeth. It's funny about action tropes while still delivering legitimately exciting sequences and a genuine ensemble energy.

But Some of the comedy has aged badly, and the satire can feel heavy-handed. It mistakes being provocative for being smart, sometimes.

Ride Along2014

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But It's formulaic to the point of predictability and wastes its premise on broad comedic choices. There's nothing here you haven't seen before.

Community2009

Both centre on unlikely teams bonded by circumstance, and both find their best moments in the running gags and dynamics that emerge from that forced proximity. Obliterated speeds it up and adds guns, but the skeleton is the same.

A comedy about a ragtag group learning to function as a unit, shot with visual flair and genuine affection for ensemble chemistry. Season 2 especially proves that a comedy can be formally inventive and genuinely moving.

But It's set in a community college, not Vegas, and it's much more interested in character development than explosions. The humour is often meta and reference-heavy, which can feel exhausting.

Blue Ruin2014

Both are about competent people in over their heads who have to leverage skills they didn't know they had. One is a tragedy of escalation; the other is a comedy of chaos. Same DNA, opposite registers.

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But It's grim and serious in ways Obliterated deliberately isn't. It's a revenge story, not a party, and the violence is consequential and sobering.