'Government Cheese' review: Arresting series about a parolee

WHAT IT'S ABOUT No one could be blamed for happening upon a TV show called "Government Cheese" and rushing to keep scrolling.

It's not a great title, to put it mildly. It also tells you nothing: the series has no tangible connection to the U.S. government's stockpile of the dairy product.

But if you were to make one of those snap judgments we all have to make when facing a deluge of streaming options, you would miss one of the most intriguing programs to arrive in awhile. It's impossible to classify, and even harder to summarize.

The 10-episode series from Paul Hunter and Aeysha Carr stars the great David Oyelowo ("Selma") as Hampton Chambers. It's 1969 in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles, and he's a newly paroled burglar and forger, returned home to his wife, Astoria, (Simone Missick) and teen children Harrison (Jahi Di'Allo Winston) and Einstein (Evan Ellison).

Hampton has found religion in prison and also come home with the invention that he believes will be the key to his family's future: a self-sharpening drill called the Bit Magician. But there are challenges. Debts remain to be paid, temptations from his old life present themselves and the family's not exactly thrilled to see him.

MY SAY This is one of those shows that exists in its own time and space, compiling influences from across the pop-cultural landscape into something new.

You can see a touch of Wes Anderson and a helping of the Coen Brothers in the ways "Government Cheese" plays with kitschy archetypes to develop its off-kilter vision of Hampton's pursuit of the American dream.

The creators blend genres together — a viewing of the first four episodes reveals a jostling between elements of a crime thriller, a broad comedy, a social satire and a family drama.

It's all captured with immaculate '60s style and underpinned by Hampton's incredulity as he finds life outside prison to be stranger and more difficult than he'd ever imagined. Oyelowo brings a sense of manic conviction to the character that sets the tone for everything around him. Even as the obstacles pile up, as nothing goes quite as he had it in mind, Hampton remains a true believer in his vision.

The creators and their directors match his energy. And they bring a biblical scope to the story, a sense of divine influence as Hampton becomes swept along in this journey.

Sometimes, things go right: A chance encounter with a woman stuck inside a vent (Sunita Mani from "GLOW") gives Hampton a renewed shot of optimism at one of his lowest points.

At other times, they go very wrong: a gang of seven French brothers is after Hampton for money he owes them, and they're not too keen on waiting around.

But through all the highs and lows, one truth remains: To quote the old Yiddish saying, "Man plans, and God laughs."

BOTTOM LINE It's unclassifiable and unpredictable, in the best possible ways.