Big Mistakes on Netflix: Dan Levy’s Chaotic Crime Comedy Is a Hilarious Trainwreck You Can’t Stop Bingeing

If you’re craving a show where two spectacularly unqualified siblings accidentally tumble into organized crime like a pair of caffeinated raccoons knocking over a jewelry heist, then Big Mistakes (Dan Levy and Rachel Sennott‘s new Netflix comedy) is… well, not exactly a flawless execution, but it’s a gloriously messy one.

The premise is pure sitcom gold dipped in mobster tar: Pastor Nicky (Levy, channeling his signature anxious precision) and his hot-mess sister Morgan (Taylor Ortega, who steals scenes with chaotic energy) try to swipe a sentimental necklace for their dying Nonna. One botched “borrowing” later, they’re blackmailed into running errands for some very dangerous people with questionable taste in accents and even worse taste in favors. Throw in Laurie Metcalf as their gloriously overbearing mother Linda—a hardware-store owner with mayoral ambitions and zero filter—and you’ve got a dysfunctional family dynamic that could power a small city.

What works brilliantly is the heart beneath the hijinks. Levy excels at playing buttoned-up characters unraveling in real time; his chemistry with Ortega feels lived-in and sibling-authentic, all eye-rolls, screaming matches, and reluctant loyalty. The show shines brightest when it leans into the domestic cringe: bickering over family secrets, passive-aggressive digs at Sunday dinner, and the quiet tenderness that sneaks in between the screaming. Metcalf, as always, is a national treasure—her Linda is a force of nature who criticizes like it’s an Olympic sport but would burn the world down to protect her kids.

The crime-comedy half is where things get wobbly. The plot requires you to suspend so much disbelief it might file for workers’ comp. Logic takes frequent vacations, coincidences pile up like unpaid parking tickets, and some episodes lean so hard into shrieky chaos that it borders on exhausting rather than exhilarating. It’s Ozark by way of Schitt’s Creek—if the Roses had stumbled into a cartel instead of a small town, but the tonal blend doesn’t always land smoothly. Early episodes especially feel like they’re trying too hard to be both heartfelt and heightened, resulting in a bit of whiplash.

Still, the dialogue pops with Levy’s witty sharpness, there are genuine laugh-out-loud moments (particularly when the siblings improvise their way out of increasingly ridiculous situations), and the supporting cast keeps things lively. It’s not groundbreaking television, and it occasionally mistakes volume for comedy, but it’s bingeable, affectionate, and sneakily endearing once it settles into its groove around the midpoint.

Verdict: Big Mistakes isn’t perfect—it’s more “charming trainwreck” than “masterpiece” but it’s the kind of flawed, funny family caper that reminds you why we love watching incompetent people flail through high-stakes nonsense. If you adored the warm dysfunction of Schitt’s Creek and don’t mind cranking the absurdity dial to eleven (with occasional gun-toting detours), this one’s worth the watch. Just don’t expect airtight plotting; embrace the mess. After all, in the world of Big Mistakes, that’s kind of the point.

Solid 7/10. Entertaining enough that my biggest regret was not having snacks ready for the full binge.