Netflix's Chicago Party Aunt very much feels like it is based on a Twitter feed

The Hollywood Reporter

The Lauren Ash-led animated comedy about an aunt that parties created by Chris Witaske, Jon Barinholtz and Katie Rich based on Witaske’s gag Twitter feed feels like a show based on a Twitter feed, "meaning that it feels like it probably should have been made in 2011," says Daniel Fienberg. "It also means that even though it masquerades as a character-driven comedy, it’s actually joke-driven at the expense of character and storytelling at every turn, much to its detriment." He adds: "I’ve rarely had cause to praise $#*! My Dad Says as either a TV show or as a model for adapting Twitter feeds for TV, and I’m not really going to do it here. But that Twitter feed and, to a lesser degree, the short-lived series based on it had the advantage of being built around a real person and, generally, around sincere advice given with a no-filters twist. It takes nothing away from Chicago Party Aunt as a Twitter feed to say that its humor frequently involves in-jokes about hot beef, Ditka, and sleeping with iconic Chicago personalities, rather than anything that feels drawn from an actual human character. For TV, that formula has been embellished with thick accents — I can’t say anything about any of the show’s vocal stars other than 'Yup, lots of Chicago accents' — and colorful animation of Chicago landmarks via the good people at Titmouse. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. If Chicago accents weren’t funny, Saturday Night Live might not exist at all. There’s a certain fish-in-a-barrel quality to punchlines related to William 'Refrigerator' Perry, traffic on Wacker or the proper ordering of a Chicago-style hot dog. Through the eight episodes sent to critics, though, Chicago Party Aunt offers little to hang those jokes on. Too often the show consists of local references, funny pronunciations, and then a semisweet ending that fails to land convincingly."

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• Lauren Ash shines in the title role in Chicago Party Aunt, but the show barely exists around her: "As voiced with gusto by Ash, fresh off a breakout run as a uniquely bossy manager on Superstore, Diane is a gleeful agent of chaos with little regard for the consequences," says Caroline Framke. "Ash embraces her flat-voweled Chicagoan accent so hard that it often tips over into general Midwestern territory, but there’s little doubt that she also embodies the level of bonkers energy the character demands. The problem with the show surrounding Diane, though, is that it only barely exists...If you’re someone who grew up in the same Chicago as Diane and Daniel, maybe Chicago Party Aunt will appeal to your knee-jerk 'hey, I know that place!' sensibilities. If not, there are plenty of other animated show dirtbags out there who can give you more of a reason to root for them, even if by just providing the slightest hint of a twist on the most expected jokes they could make."
• Chicago Party Aunt is a bawdy, rollicking, farcical, hilarious and surprisingly warmhearted love letter to the Chicago: "Not since the heyday of Bill Swerski’s Superfans on Saturday Night Live have we heard so many folks speaking in such broad Chicago accents and behaving in such stereotypical Chicago ways — but the satire is executed with wit and affection, and we’re too busy laughing and nodding our heads in recognition to even consider being the least bit offended," says Richard Roeper, adding: "With relatively simple, brightly colored animation setting the tone, Chicago Party Aunt follows a sitcom-type format, with each episode running 23 or 24 minutes and featuring self-contained adventures — but there are also some running storylines, and we get to know and like the key players a little bit better with each chapter."
• It’s impossible to talk about Chicago Party Aunt without discussing how distractingly flat its animation style is: "Backgrounds and objects lack texture, and at times it is as if the characters are hovering in front of the scenes instead of interacting with them," says Shannon Campe. "Despite boasting an incredibly talented cast of voice actors, including legendary performers like Bob Odenkirk and RuPaul Charles, Chicago Party Aunt is animated and drawn in a charmless, dull style that instantly drains every character of personality. At times the cast’s faces are so expressionless that they feel actively out of sync with the cast’s energetic voice work. For all the effort the voice actors put in, it’s difficult to care about an ensemble when they’re presented so woodenly."