Average Joe is an American dark comedy-drama television series created by Robb Cullen. It premiered on BET+ on June 26, 2023 and later added to Netflix on August 15, 2024.
In June 2024, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on August 19, 2026 on Paramount+, after BET+ shut down in June.
Contents
Plot
An everyday plumber named Joe learns that his recently deceased father was working for the Russian mafia and stole $10 million and a car from them. The mafia is now looking for Joe and the money.
Cast and characters
Deon Cole as Joe Washington
Tammy Townsend as Angela Washington
Malcolm Barrett as Leon Montgomery
Cynthia McWilliams as Cathy Montgomery
Michael Trucco as Benjamin "Touch" Tuchawuski
Ashani Roberts as Sgt. Pam Talford
Kathrine Barnes as Arina
Ashley Olivia Fisher as Jennifer Washington
Pasha D. Lychnikoff as Nicolai Dzhugashvili
Episodes
Production
Development
The series was picked up by BET+ on February 7, 2022. In September 2022, it was announced that Eric Dean Seaton would direct the first episode. The series premiered on June 26, 2023.
On June 6, 2024, BET+ renewed the series for a second season. Season 2 started filming on February 7, 2025 and wrapped on May 13, 2025.
Casting
In April 2022, Deon Cole was cast in the leading role. The rest of the main cast was revealed on October 20, 2022.
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of the show garnered a 86% score from critics, a "positive" score. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 73 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Daniel Fienberg from The Hollywood Reporter praised the tone and performances, especially from Deon Cole, Malcolm Barrett and Cynthia McWilliams.
