The series chisels out an ultra-realistic take regarding relationships. Fodder like taking a trip, moving in together, and the dreaded nature of falling into a routine are explored here better than I’ve ever seen them before, with the results that are sometimes scary for how honest and genuine they are. Seeing someone so carefully pinpoint how a relationship can decay and how the action can be so laissez-faire at times is a frightening thing, but creators Ansari and Alan Yang nail it. At the same time, the show will also steer into dreamy territory and deliver its own version of Before Sunrise in the sweetest, gooiest way. That’s what relationships are, the series is telling us, this complicated mess of extremes.

The subject matter and tone of Master of None are refreshing and reason alone to be excited, but the look of the series is another impressive attribute. The show is really beautifully filmed with subtle handheld touches at times to accentuate moments. Black and white fantasy sequences are indulged in to capitalize on New York’s beauty, and it’s easy to see why Ansari wanted to film here versus LA, which has been his home for a while. It even feels like you’re watching an episode of Louie or an early Woody Allen film, at times.

Beyond the aesthetic gorgeousness of the show, the eclectic cast that’s been assembled here is really something special. Ansari is of course leading the pack, but he’s rounded out with the likes of Eric Wareheim, Lena Waithe, Kelvin Yu, and the aforementioned Noël Wells. The affability between everyone in this cast is also extremely believable, with Wareheim’s Arnold as a particularly inspired foil for Dev. There’s a particular opening to an episode that I love to death that evokes a very Tarantino-like feel as Dev and Arnold break down the lyrics to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” to the smallest minutiae. The piece is distinctly in Ansari’s voice and the perfect vehicle for him to riff on this sort of thing. This is the banter and the “nothing” that this show gets into. This is their Jerry and George talking about Superman. This is their Vincent and Jules waxing on about fast food and the metric system. Yet it feels incredibly fresh.

At the same time, there are other moments of complete beauty that the show realizes in entirely different ways. For instance, there’s a scene where Dev and Denise perform a citizen’s arrest, and it’s a glowing moment of empowerment that might be my favorite moment from the season. It acts as a great example of the good that this show can do, which sounds like a crazy thing to say, but it’s absolutely true. There’s certainly a social mindedness at play here that is absent in a lot of sitcoms, and a lot of this has to do with the creative force behind the series that Ansari and Alan Yang have put together. There are a lot of familiar names from Yang and Ansari’s former stomping grounds of Parks and Recreation, and it’s deeply bittersweet to see the recently departed Harris Wittels’ name in the credits, too (with his voice still very much feeling apart of the show).

Two of the more powerful examples of the important conversations that Master of None is trying to engage in, come in the forms of the episodes “Indians on TV” and “Ladies and Gentlemen.” The former is a poignant look at the roles that Indians have been marginalized into in the media, pulling from Ansari’s real-life experiences. The episode cleverly subverts itself as it simultaneously deconstructs and attempts to fix this problem, while displaying both sides of the argument fairly.