'Bust Down' busts comedic boundaries with Neuqua Valley grad Chris Redd

For almost 50 years, "Saturday Night Live" has afforded comedians many chances to test the boundaries of what's acceptable to NBC's audience. "Bust Down," a six-episode series on NBC's streaming service Peacock, probably crosses those boundaries every few seconds.

"SNL" cast member and Neuqua Valley High School graduate Chris Redd stars in "Bust Down" alongside Sam Jay (writer for "SNL"), Langston Kerman ("The Boys") and Jak Knight ("black-ish") as employees of a Gary, Indiana, casino that looks an awful lot like Elgin's Grand Victoria, pre-renovation. Coincidence?

The stars, all playing characters who share their real names, are also credited as creators and executive producers of the show that shines brightest when all four appear together in the casino break room, where the funniest and most shocking conversations take place.

"Bust Down's" adults-only, button-pushing sense of humor is reminiscent of galvanizing, career-making shows like "Chappelle's Show" and "South Park." Comedy Central was already big, but became a juggernaut with those shows two decades ago; here in 2022, "Bust Down" is an under-the-radar show on a mostly under-the-radar platform. (If you have Xfinity cable, you have Peacock, by the way.)

The first 30-minute episode contains wall-to-wall jokes about sexual assault at work. The second begins with Sam being publicly beaten by her mistress and includes a "Watchmen" parody in a sperm bank. But even at its most taboo, "Bust Down" works because the actors' real friendship is evident, making the audience feel like a participant and not a spectator.

Kerman makes the biggest impression, getting big laughs in the first scene ("I have to say, it would be nice to get a job that doesn't involve urinal cakes"). He takes the spotlight in the third episode, "Beige Rage," with physical comedy both subtle and broad. He also gets a dual-role cutaway scene amid the fourth episode's sobering plot thread about homelessness. It's a magnetic performance from Kerman, an Oak Park native who also appeared on HBO's "Insecure."

In a joint statement, the foursome summed up the show's mission in the news release announcing its premiere: "There aren't a lot of straight comedies right now where people truly go for jokes that are raunchy, irreverent, and complicated, and at its core that's what 'Bust Down' is all about," they said. "We believe true equality is being able to make a show about nonsense the same way white people have been doing forever."

All six episodes of "Bust Down" are available now on the Peacock app.