Tarantula’s charm lies in the derelicts that occupy the Tierra Chula Resident Hotel, more commonly referred to as the Tarantula. Echo Johnson, the show’s hapless center, and the others that are around him are the people that society forgets about—or rather, tries to forget about. This is hardly the first time for a comedy to focus on such unrefined individuals, but this show finds a healthy balance. Most importantly, Tarantula understands how to still make these characters lovable in spite of their many flaws. Much like with many of the undesirable residents of the Tarantula, viewers may not want to stare directly at all of this, but they will also find themselves weirdly unable to look away.

Echo is oddly wise and sage-like in his plebian ways. He’s the sort of person who’s afraid of gorillas (and their existential pain) and cries when he eats a bison burger. His friends include characters like an unrecognized sci-fi writer who splits his time as a truck driver, a musician named after a butt, and others that are mostly covered in unsightly rashes. These are beaten down, unusual characters, but they help reflect the refreshing level of honesty that’s present in this simple comedy.

Tarantula is also a universe that feels at home within that usual skewed realm within Danny McBride and Jody Hill’s work. Carson Mell created the show (and also writes the bulk of it), but McBride and Hill are executive producers and it’s definitely easy to picture the miscreants of the Tierra Chula get along with any of the characters from Eastbound & Down or Vice Principals. If anything, it feels like My Name Is Earl meets Apollo Gauntlet (with a pinch of Mission Hill thrown in for good measure) in terms of tone and substance.

Much like its humble characters, Tarantula tells modest stories. There are episodes about simple things like chasing after a dog or the importance of a good, hearty lunch. Echo’s struggles are those of the extremely common man, like how movie tickets can grow so high in price or his fear over the growing incorporation of computers in everything. Tarantula isn’t interested in complex plots like time travel or the higher storytelling found in something like Rick and Morty or South Park. That’s not a bad thing though. Tarantula is far from rocket science, but it’s confident and comfortable in its own skin. It does an effective job to make this rough around the edges universe a place where the audience wants to return.

The show’s pilot is smart to not spend too much time on things like the series’ larger premise. It knows that it’s better off to just throw viewers into this world and let them figure out the show through exposure. There is also some interesting flair present in the series like the construct where each episode Echo re-tells his story to someone. Everything is told through hindsight like his tales are those of some local legend. It’s a fun touch.