STICK – Season One
An over-the-hill ex-golfer, fired from his job, sees hope in coaching a troubled teen prodigy after his wife leaves him, staking his future on the youth's success.
It was inevitable that after Ted Lasso’s success and popularity, others would try to replicate that sports comedy-drama. But while Apple TVs new series Stick has all the ingredients of Ted Lasso, it can’t capture the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of Jason Sudeikis’s Emmy-winning show.
Pryce Cahill (Owen Wilson) is a former golfer who now upsells equipment by lying to middle-aged businessmen about the class of their swing. His career ended prematurely two decades prior, and he has been in limbo since. After the collapse of his marriage to Amber-Lynn (Judy Greer) and the loss of his job at an Indiana sporting goods store, Pryce decides something needs to change. On his local driving range, he discovers a 17-year-old golfing genius who regularly breaks in and puts his seniors to shame. A light goes off in his head, and Pryce sees dollar signs.
Santi (Peter Dager) is a normal, if not slightly rebellious, 17-year-old. He is working at his overbearing Latina mother’s store by day and breaking into driving ranges at night to showboat his golf skills. Pryce sees his potential, and also a way to make money and get back into the world of golf. So, he convinces Peter’s overbearing mother, Elena (Mariana Treviño), that they should go on a road trip and turn her son into a golf superstar.
Stick is a predominantly road trip show, as Pryce teams up with his lonely, widowed friend Mitts (Marc Maron), Peter and Elena to travel the US in a campervan. On their journey, Peter forms a relationship with Zero (Lilli Kay), an opinionated young woman who opens Pryce and Mitts up to a whole new world of language, pronouns and ideology. On the road, they hustle strangers, fight the cliché middle-aged, middle-class golf club stereotypes and confront their own trauma.
Stick is a gentle exploration of life that lacks ambition. Every narrative beat can be seen a mile away, so do not expect any bold twists or turns. The writers do nothing here that has not been done better elsewhere, and make numerous lazy choices with these characters. The predictability and low-stakes nature of the series wears thin over the ten episodes.
Created by Jason Keller, this show is more effective as a drama than as a comedy. The humour predominantly plays on the generational gap between Santi and Zero and Pryce and Mitts. Jokes about pronouns, teenage romance, and the immigrant experience in America fall quite flat and come across as cheap. Some of these jokes belong in a 1990s Tim Allen sitcom, and everyone involved should know better.
Stick is clearly made for the same audience as Apple TV’s other shows about middle-aged men overcoming trauma, Shrinking and Ted Lasso. Only the comedy and the tragedy feel half-hearted in comparison to these shows. The real issue with Stick compared to the much better alternatives already available on the same streamer is that the characters are so underwritten that it is hard to have a true connection to their stories. The world does not feel real and the cast do not feel like people you can root for.
One of the weakest elements of Stick is how bland Pryce is as a leading character, which is a flaw of the writing. He does not like to talk about his past trauma, which is either depicted through flashbacks or dream sequences of Mitt gossiping to Elena. Because Pryce will not confront it, the events of his past are kept at arm’s length from audiences. Wilson’s natural charm does more to make you like the boyish, washed-up man than the writing does. But even after ten episodes, you only ever get surface level with Pryce.
The actor comes alive when interacting with Marc Maron’s grumpy widower. Their late-night campervan chats over beer are some of the highlights of the show. Maron can elevate any material he is given, even if most of the jokes about his character revolve around his lack of knowledge of youth culture. The grump with a heart is a trope perfected by Maron, but Stick does not try to build upon it. The two actors deserve better than the lazy writing of a clichéd out-of-touch middle-aged man depicted in Stick.
Peter Dager is a decent actor but lacks the charm to carry an entire series. Santi is ultimately the least interesting character in the show, and this is not helped by a flat performance from Dager. His teenage rebellion frequently comes across more like a spoiled child having a tantrum, making him hard to root for. As the central figure in the story, he really should be someone for audiences to root for. Instead, he is the most forgettable piece of the puzzle.
For a show ultimately about male trauma, the two female leads steal the show. Lilli Kay shines in every scene she is in, elevating material which could come across as stale in the hands of someone less talented. The writers really wanted to create another annoying Gen Z-er, obsessed with climate change and gender neutrality. Kay just about saves the writing from being totally cringeworthy. Mariana Treviño also excels as a woman who has often struggled to be taken seriously. These two women go on a bigger journey than any of the men, as they find a place for themselves in a world that has not always been welcoming to them. Someone who does not get enough material worthy of her talent is Judy Greer, who is sidelined as the nagging ex-wife stereotype.
If you are someone who likes a gentle, more heartfelt television show but has no knowledge of golf, fear not. Stick understands that not everyone understands the language associated with the sport, so they strangely distance themselves from the world of golf. Aficionados of the sport may find themselves annoyed by the obvious camera switches that cover the lack of golf skills and the dumbing down of conversations about the game. Golfing fans will appreciate some of the cameos and references, but not knowing anything beyond Tiger Woods should not deter you from Stick.
Stick isn’t unwatchable and has plenty of potential thanks to the likeable cast. Sadly, it makes too many safe choices and fails to create a group of characters audiences can root for. The wrinkles could be ironed out in future episodes if only the creators could be a little more ambitious and bold with their choices.
USA | 2025 | 10 EPISODES | 16:9 HD | COLOUR | ENGLISH
Cast & Crew
writers: Jason Keller, Christopher Moynihan, Esti Giordani, Bill Callahan, Kate Fodor, Bryan Johnson & Jimy Shah.
directors: Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris.
starring: Owen Wilson, Peter Dager, Marc Maron, Mariana Treviño, Lilli Kay & Judy Greer.
