Hit Or Miss: Little Voice Sings Loud
If there is one word Bess (Brittany O’Grady) would use to describe herself, as she assembles the letters on a scribble board, is “mess”. A word no stranger to the Gen Z artists surfing through the city one gig after another, is how “Bess the mess” feel underneath the current of her life. One outlet for Bess is songwriting, but the moment she steps onstage, her talent is eclipsed by the waves of her unnerved anxiety. She is apologetic and careful without her music—written for the show by co-creator Sara Bareilles—which represents the true Bess: underneath the mess, she is nothing but earnest.
From the co-creators Bareilles and Jessie Nelson, this new Apple TV series is an exhumed genre of stories that features young women with unparalleled talent riffles through love, family and friendship. The distant between Bess’ talent and her stage fright is not alone, that growth is an essential element for her family and her love life. The coming of age is unfolding as the story develop on screen, much like executive producer J.J. Abrams’ iconic Felicity, embodies the new generation who are still in the midst of trying to figure it out.
Bess grew up in a single-parent family with a brother Phil (Sam Lazarus) in need of special care. She lifts up her family as a reliable supporting daughter, who takes on a line of gigs—bartending, dog walking, waitressing, babysitting—to tend the needs of those she loves. Music is just a side project Bess feels unsure about since her father (Chuck Cooper) didn’t make it as a musician. Her creative struggle is a personal one, which is why it gets frustrating to watch Bess ponder over her self-created creative blockage. Her music is good but often performed without importance, as she deemed it to be.
The series faces a major challenge to make a presumptuous character likable. Bess is trapped by her ego to be believe that she only write music for herself, which promptly deterred professional opportunity and the hearts of the audience. She also strings along two sensitive men, with Ethan (Sean Teale) in a relationship, throughout the entire season without any resolution. The tedious love triangle is on brand and messy, but the character being content to stay stuck can thwart the audience from staying on her side.
What Little Voice succeeded in is creating a watercolored New York and its reliance on gig economy, within which New Yorkers are struggling and abused by the instability and ravished during the pandemic. Little Voice doesn’t seem to romanticize the idea of hustling to get by, but shouts out and gives voice to the artists who are independent and resilient. The artistic time and space found between the crowded day jobs, delivers a message as soothing as Bareilles’ music: art conveys, art survives.
Bess believes she doesn’t have a safety net, but over the course of the story that is proved to be untrue. Bess’ talent attracts the attention of Samuel (Colton Ryan) and Benny (Phillip Johnson Richardson) who are willing to drop everything in support of her career. Her best friend and roommate Prisha (Shalini Bathina) also stands strong as an individual character that acts as a truth-teller in the one-woman-show that Bess seem to live in. Bess has a safety net, she is just too self obsessed with her emotional blockage to see clearly that at one point in her life she needs to start making decisions for herself. And that is the lesson to be learned.
Little Voice showcases the magic of Sara Bareilles’ music in the smartest way—amidst flawed characters, the songs deliver an irresistible sincerity. It’s dreadful when a show relies too much on the sentimentality, Little Voice finds a way to do just enough. Even though the characters are busy being passionate about the art of living and music, the series doesn’t forget for one moment to reveal its heart. The voice might be little, but the message is loud: do what you love.
Little Voice premieres Friday, July 10 on Apple TV Plus.