Netflix just added a hot new comedy series to the streaming service: "Bad Thoughts."
It was already one of the shows new to Netflix this week to keep an eye on. But mere hours after it was released, "Bad Thoughts" has already hit the No. 2 spot on the Netflix top 10.
This Netflix original comedy show is from the twisted mind of acclaimed stand-up comedian Tom Segura, and it's a quick, six-episode binge. Each episode is less than half an hour long and is comprised of short vignettes, which are largely — but not entirely — disconnected from each other.
So with only a few hours needed to stream the entire show, this could easily be worth a watch if it's any good. But having binged the entire series myself, whether this show is good or not ... well, that's certainly up for debate.
Here's what you need to know about "Bad Thoughts," including whether or not you should stream it or skip it.
What is Netflix’s ‘Bad Thoughts’ about?
First, "Bad Thoughts" isn't a stand-up special. For those wanting to watch Tom Segura do stand-up, there are five such specials on Netflix you can watch.
No, this six-episode dark comedy series has Segura starring in multiple roles across a collection of "hilariously disturbing" vignettes. Each episode has three such vignettes packed within it, save the final episode, which has just two.
Having watched them myself, I can confirm they're often hilarious and/or disturbing ... though often just raunchy.
I can also confirm that while these stories appear to be largely disconnected from each other in the trailer, there is some connective tissue between some of them.
Because this is a Netflix show, the show is designed to make you want to keep watching. So the final vignette of an episode ends on a cliffhanger, leading into the first vignette of the next episode (until the end of episode 5, which finally bucks the trend).
'Bad Thoughts' starts mostly just bad — but it gets better
While I love the premise of "Bad Thoughts," the execution largely missed the mark.
The first three episodes were especially poor, with stories often just being raunchy, sophomoric or crude rather than funny. And making the final story of one episode lead into the first story of the next episode often felt forced, diminishing the effect of both parts.
That said, starting with episode 4, things did get better. In fact, by episode 5, they actually got good. That was the first episode where I enjoyed every short story in the episode.
It's almost as if these episodes were produced in order, and Segura didn't fully get into his groove until he got a couple of practice reps.
You can skip 'Bad Thoughts' — but here are select stories worth a watch
Of course, the problem with not getting fully into the groove until episode five of six is that you have to watch the previous four episodes.
That's why I recommend skipping "Bad Thoughts," despite its short runtime.
I'm not alone in this recommendation either. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show currently has just a 60% "fresh" rating from five critics' reviews, and an even lower 55% rating from audiences, with over 50 ratings.
However, there are a few stories you could choose to watch while still skipping everything else.
Episode 3's second vignette is set during a school play, where Tom's son has written a play about Tom's dad's time in Vietnam, with the help of Tom's dad. It's hysterical, and goes about as bad as you'd expect, but has a final twist you don't quite see coming.
Of course, I'd recommend episode 5 in its entirety, though it requires watching a few other stories. The first vignette in episode 5 is the second part of the last story in episode 4 (which is worth watching on its own), so you'll want to watch that.
And the second vignette in episode 5 is part of a three-part story contained within the season, so you'll need to watch the last story of episode 1 and the first short story of episode 2 to get the full picture.
Those two short stories aren't as good as the conclusion, but it'll pay off to have watched it in the end. Which is almost exactly how I'd describe this show, but it still falls just short of being worth watching.
Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.
Here's what he's been watching lately:
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