Given the critical and commercial success of Louie, from Louis C.K., it made sense for FX President John Landgraf to look to other comedians to try to replicate the highly personal, low-cost template, allowing experienced stand-ups a high degree of creative control in exchange for short-run commitments. Of course, with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia to even Wilfred, FX has also had a history of some success of its own with shows built around unpleasant and/or arguably sociopathic protagonists. And at that intersection we arrive at Legit, starring Australian-born Jim Jefferies.



Hatched with showrunner Peter O’Fallon, Legit stars Jefferies as a same-named, edgy, foul-mouthed comedian living in Los Angeles, and struggling to take his life and career in more respectable directions. By Jim’s side are his neurotic roommate and best friend Steve (Dan Bakkedahl), and Steve’s wheelchair-bound brother, Billy (DJ Qualls), as well as Steve and Billy’s mother, Janice (Mindy Sterling, a comedic pro), and Jim’s girlfriend Peggy (Ginger Gonzaga).

Jefferies robustly embodies his larger-than-life persona (think a slightly more coarse, less mystic Russell Brand, if you’ve never seen or heard him), so of course there is drug abuse, casual misogyny and jokes at the expense of Billy’s muscular dystrophy. The bickering and at times fairly abusive nature of the core relationships at the show’s center — and how they intersect with Jefferies’ blithe self-absorption — are the series’ gasoline, and the voluble star is basically a struck match, flicked to the edge of proceedings.

This gives the show a (purposefully) uncomfortable quality that is at times quite mesmerizing. Yet Jefferies allegedly found roots for more than half of Legit‘s first season storylines in real-life incidents, friends and acquaintances, which may explain some of its growing pains. The show doesn’t always feel completely relaxed and at home in its sketching out of Jefferies’ career up to this point, so it can’t always reliably plumb an established persona in the context of its various scenarios. Certain bits (the dressing down of an obnoxious airline passenger, for instance) play out as unruly wish fulfillment, while others (there’s an episode where Jefferies seeks advice from Loveline‘s Dr. Drew Pinsky about sex addiction, and then tries to act on said advice) feel like scrupulously story-broken plotlines.

Housed in a clear plastic Amaray case with a snap-in tray, Legit: The Complete First Season comes to DVD spread out over two dual layer discs, presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, with Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio tracks and optional English SDH, separate English and Spanish subtitles. Bonus features are a nice grab-bag, anchored by a 39-minute director’s cut of the series’ pilot that includes a cameo from Eddie Izzard, as well as episodic audio commentaries in which Jefferies, Bakkedahl and O’Fallon crack wise and foul.

There are also around 10 minutes of deleted scenes, a hefty gag reel that clocks in at around 15 minutes, and a two-minute bit which amusingly autotunes a bunch of lines from a supporting character. The best supplemental bonus feature, however, just might be “Jim Jefferies’ Journey,” which serves as a repository for more than 26 minutes of its star’s improvisation. To purchase the DVD set via Amazon, click here; to purchase via Half, click here. Or if it’s your inclination, by all means support your local brick-and-mortar establishment. B- (Show) A- (Disc)