Why Brandon Micheal Hall should be the breakout star of 2017

Brandon Micheal Hall is an up and coming leading man with a middle name that serves as a charming factoid.  Did you know, that his mother was all hopped up on two epidurals when she named him? Well, now you do and that little bit of trivia will haunt you every time you see BMH’s precious face. Recently, Hall has been finding the perfect niche on the television screen. 2017 is proving to be a good year for the young actor. Brandon Micheal Hall is making a name for himself, scrambled vowels and all. Even though he previously had parts in The Characters and Broad City, I was first introduced to him in TBS’s Search Party.  Hall plays the foil to the world’s most insufferable boyfriend.  Search Party has a pretty specific vibe that it’s striving to achieve.  The show has an oppressive feeling of hipster coolness.  Characters wear clothes you’d feel foolish wearing, they make profound statements that don’t really mean anything, all scripted over indecipherable lyrics of a mumbling singer. It’s a real cool vibe. In the first episode of season one, Brandon Micheal Hall cuts through the all the fakeness. When the audience first meets him, he walks into a super trendy rooftop party and is immediately ready to leave.  Hall’s character waters down how superficial and painful the other characters can be. Because I’m naive and easily persuaded, I’m convinced that Brandon Micheal Hall is a little like this in real life. Exhibit B: ABC’s The Mayor. I feel shame for reallllllly liking this show.  (I guarantee that the cool hipsters on the super trendy rooftop party in Search Party don’t like The Mayor) but, I can’t help myself.  Hall plays a rapper who runs for mayor as a publicity stunt to promote his rap album. The premise is painful. There are so many opportunities for the show be a flop.  For example, Courtney Rose, the rapper turned mayor, raps at the beginning of the show.  Even though the lyrics are written by Hamilton’s Daveed Diggs, the results are cheesy.  In the song “Cheddar Cheese,” they boast, "Breathalyze me...that ain't liquor, it's just all this game I got inside me." It’s not great. In October, Entertainment Weekly claimed that “Cheddar Cheese” would become your “new jam.”  To no one’s surprise, “Cheddar Cheese” isn’t anyone’s jam. But, despite it all, The Mayor is lovely.  To Hall’s credit, a lot of the show’s chemistry comes from his connection with many of the characters.  Hall lets David Spade do David Spade things.  Hall has a sweet chemistry with Lea Michele.  (So much so that If they don’t get together I’ll delete this whole article.) The best relationship is between Courtney Rose and his mother, played by Yvette Nicole Brown.  Brown seems like a stand-in for Hall’s mother in real life.  She’s a hard working woman with an extremely loving relationship with her son. Ironically, their supportive relationship is my new jam. The only fear about Hall’s personality is that he’s too good to be true.  Can anyone be as genuine as he seems in interviews?  For example, in his first late night appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, he asks for a second round of applause just for his mom in the crowd.  For some actors, this would be a calculated move to seem down-to-earth and thoughtful.  With Hall, it seems real.  Even this video describing Hall’s advice for any aspiring actors is syrupy sweet.  Can he really be that adorable? https://youtu.be/9GFzkUV9mQ0 Overall, there isn’t one shining example for why Brandon Micheal Hall is the breakout star of 2017.  He played a likable character in a show full of self-centered weirdos.  He is the lead in a decent sitcom.  There’s just something undeniably delightful about his energy and authenticity. He’s the real deal and you heard it here first.