Originally a web-series on Vimeo, HBO’s High Maintenance takes a surreal approach to the life of “The Guy,” a nameless weed delivery man biking his products around New York City. He’s played by show co-creator Ben Sinclair, who shares episodic spotlight through the quirky customers he encounters on his runs across the city’s boroughs. We highly recommend tuning into High Maintenance HBO.
Each episode focuses on a different customer, which gives it a conversational and perceptive tone. It also gives it hilarious guest stars, including Hannibal Buress, Abdullah Saeed and Danielle Brooks. Co-creator Katja Blichfield says, “I’m a casting director, and familiar with a lot of actors from casting 30 Rock, so that actually lets us write specifically for certain people. That’s something a lot of screenwriters wish they could do. It’s exciting to be able to write juicy things for people who when I worked with them previously only got to say one or two lines.”
Besides character-driven stories, the show captures the stoned euphoria, and sometimes paranoia, of New York City, with Sinclair’s performance. It also seems like he’s pretty knowledgeable in his own right. Here’s a video of Sinclair trying to name as many unique weed strains as he can in 1 minute. He names over 20, but we’re not sure how real some of them are (Filene’s Basement??). How many could you do in a minute? (We got 14)
What do you think? Hit or miss… Is it going to be an accurate portrayal of your experience with “The Guy” who delivers your buds? Aka your drug dealer. At the least, it is HBO, so it should be entertaining. The new season of High Maintenance premieres Jan. 20th on HBO.
We look forward to seeing you back for our next featured post!
