While still largely marching to its own beat, the basic premise of the series sees each episode examining some different subset of “gear,” whether it’s camping, cycling, or the myriad of other topics that are out there in the world. There’s a nice divide found in each episode where there’s a substantial amount of time spent legitimately educating you on gear, while also allowing Jon’s unstoppable ego to derail things into a wholly unexpected direction. At one moment several minutes are devoted to a ridiculous non sequitur involving Sylvester Stallone that is all ultimately pointless. Jon Glaser Loves Gear is not afraid to take you down such rabbit holes. In fact, it’s got gear specifically built for such things.

Gear is of course a heavy focus in the series but if there’s any other prominent thread being tugged at throughout this show, it’s the crumbling status of Jon’s marriage and his family life. There were a number of Delocated episodes that saw “Jon” throwing himself into his hair-brained scheme du jour, but it’s easy to picture this season ending with Jon broken and alone, crying in a pile of water-resistant gear.

On the topic of Jon, the character, Glaser admittedly brought a similar hapless quality to the bulk of the characters that he’s played in the past. That being said, while there are clear touches of “Jon” and Joe in this portrayal of Glaser, it also feels like the most honest and close to home version of this guy. While this is obviously still a fictionalized version of himself, there’s a degree of genuineness to the character that shines through, too. I suppose that makes sense for something that’s attempting the “faux reality” genre, but it’s also the most satisfying version of Glaser to be getting for this sort of show. He’s just pure id unleashed and it’s wonderful. The series’ opening scene—wherein Jon flies through his pitch of the series to truTV—sets the hectic tone and tempo perfectly.

Around Jon are of course the people that have to clean up his mess. The supporting cast and guest roles in Jon Glaser Loves Gear practically feel like a who’s who and “all-stars” assemblage of familiar faces and steady confidantes, with people like Steve Cirbus, John Hodgman, Janeane Garofalo, and Michel Shannon all having satisfying, juicy roles.

One of the biggest surprises of this series lies in the fact that it’s a lot more serialized than you’d expect a show of this nature would be. There’s a lot to miss here if you’re not paying attention (including an incredible gag involving Steve Cirbus during the show’s opening credits post episode one). It requires much more eagle-eyed viewership than your standard reality TV show. It’s kind of beautiful to think of a show that seems so innocuously simple in its ambition spinning such plates at the same time and trying to weave a much deeper story.