# Average Joe
**Average Joe** is an American dark comedy crime drama television series created by Robb Cullen, starring [Deon Cole](https://www.edgepedia.org/deon-cole) as Joe Washington, a [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh) plumber who learns that his recently deceased father secretly stole $10 million and a [Lamborghini](https://www.edgepedia.org/lamborghini) from the Russian mob, and that the mobsters now believe Joe knows where the money is.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/average-joe-release-date-news) The series premiered on June 26, 2023 on the streaming service BET+ and ran for ten one-hour episodes in its first season.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | June 26, 2023 on BET+, with the first two episodes launching together[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet) |
| Creator | Robb Cullen; the series is inspired by his life[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet) |
| Premise | Plumber Joe Washington's late father Teddy skimmed $10 million and a Lamborghini from the Russian mob, and the mob comes after Joe[2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/average-joe-release-date-news) |
| Lead cast | Deon Cole (Joe Washington), Tammy Townsend (Angela), Malcolm Barrett (Leon), Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (Cathy), Michael Trucco (Benjamin "Touch" Tuchawuski)[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/average-joe-release-date-news) |
| Seasons | Season 1: 10 episodes (2023, BET+); Season 2: 8 episodes (2026, Paramount+), 18 episodes total[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet) • [3](https://www.paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/average-joe-season-2-everything-you-need-to-know/) • [4](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/average-joe) |
| Reception | Metacritic Metascore 73 (generally favorable); Rotten Tomatoes season 1 Tomatometer 88%; IMDb rating 7.3/10[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/average-joe-2023/critic-reviews/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/average_joe_2023) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18070984/ratings/) |
| Current home | Paramount+, after the BET+ service was discontinued in June 2026[8](https://www.paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/how-to-watch-bet-plus-shows-on-paramount-plus/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and setting
The series is a darkly comedic, intense one-hour drama set in "The Hill" district of Pittsburgh.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet) Joe Washington is a blue-collar plumber, a devoted [Pittsburgh Steelers](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh-steelers) fan, and a husband to Angela and father to teenage daughter Jennifer.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/average-joe-release-date-news) The day after his father Teddy's funeral, Joe is attacked by Russian mobsters at his father's towing company office and learns that Teddy, who died in a fire, had been secretly working for the mob and skimmed $10 million and a Lamborghini from them.[2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/average-joe-release-date-news) • [9](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/average-joe/) A bloody confrontation then forces Joe and his close-knit circle of family and friends into a life-or-death race to find the truth and the money.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet)
The mob boss Nicolai Dzhugashvili, played by Pasha Lychnikoff, hires the ex-assassin Arina to find the man who killed his son Dimitri, and the season follows Joe, his friend Leon, Leon's wife Cathy, and the family friend Touch, a Pittsburgh cop, as they dispose of bodies, hunt for the hidden cash, and dodge both the mob and Pennsylvania State Police sergeant Pam Talford.[2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/average-joe-release-date-news) • [9](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/average-joe/)
### Season 2
Season 2 premiered on August 19, 2026 on Paramount+, with the first two episodes available on premiere day and one new episode each Wednesday through the season finale on September 30, 2026.[3](https://www.paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/average-joe-season-2-everything-you-need-to-know/) • [11](https://www.macobserver.com/news/average-joe-season-2-finale-date-paramount-plus/) The eight-episode season moves the action to [Cape Town](https://www.edgepedia.org/cape-town), South Africa, where a mysterious new threat targeting Joe's family sends Joe, Leon, Cathy, and Touch in search of answers about his father's past.[3](https://www.paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/average-joe-season-2-everything-you-need-to-know/) • [4](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/average-joe) New cast members include Katlego Lebogang as Imani, a young woman whose connection to Joe's family changes what he knows about his past, and [Hakeem Kae-Kazim](https://www.edgepedia.org/hakeem-kae-kazim) as Sipho, a Cape Town crime boss who pursues the group.[3](https://www.paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/average-joe-season-2-everything-you-need-to-know/)
The season's arrival on [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) followed a change in where the series lives. The BET+ streaming service was discontinued in June 2026 and folded into Paramount+, which became the streaming home for BET programming, including *Average Joe*.[8](https://www.paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/how-to-watch-bet-plus-shows-on-paramount-plus/) • [12](https://cbsi.my.salesforce-sites.com/CBSi/articles/en_US/Knowledge/PD-What-is-happening-with-BET?data=%29%7D%3F%29%7D%3F%29%7D%3F&popup=false&referer=sho.com%2Fott&template=ottShoTemplate) Season 1 had also been added to Netflix in the United States in August 2024.[13](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/average-joe-from-bet-lined-up-for-release-on-netflix/)
## Production and cast
Robb Cullen created the series and writes for it; it is inspired by his own life.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet) • [3](https://www.paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/average-joe-season-2-everything-you-need-to-know/) Executive producers include McG, Robb Cullen, Eric Dean Seaton, Corey Marsh, Mary Viola, and Deb Evans, and the show is produced by Wonderland Sound and Vision and DAE Light Media.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet) Directors across the first season included Eric Dean Seaton, Christoph Schrewe, Marshall Tyler, David Katzenberg, and Joy T. Lane.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet)
**Deon Cole** leads the cast as Joe Washington, his first lead role in a scripted series.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet) • [10](https://www.bet.com/article/cr4bf0/five-tv-shows-to-binge-this-season-on-bet) Cole, a comedian and actor known for playing Charlie on ABC's *Black-ish*, won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series three consecutive times, in 2020, 2021, and 2022, for that role.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet) The principal cast also includes [Tammy Townsend](https://www.edgepedia.org/tammy-townsend) as Angela Washington, a diner waitress with a pain disorder and a strong moral compass; Malcolm Barrett as Leon Montgomery; Cynthia Kaye McWilliams as Cathy Montgomery; [Michael Trucco](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-trucco) as Benjamin "Touch" Tuchawuski; Ashley Olivia Fisher as Jennifer Washington; Pasha Lychnikoff as Nicolai Dzhugashvili; Chris Petrovski as Dimitri; and Ashani Roberts as Sgt. Pam Talford.[2](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/average-joe-release-date-news)
## Reception
Season 1 received generally favorable reviews. On Metacritic it holds a Metascore of 73 based on five critic reviews, four positive and one mixed.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/average-joe-2023/critic-reviews/) [Entertainment Weekly](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-weekly) scored it 83, praising its "enjoyably manic" energy, and the Wall Street Journal scored it 80, calling Cole's portrayal of Joe the centerpiece of the series.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/average-joe-2023/critic-reviews/) [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter)'s review, at 70, highlighted the ensemble, especially Malcolm Barrett and Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, while RogerEbert.com's mixed review, at 50, judged that the writing diminished the cast's lively dialogue.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/average-joe-2023/critic-reviews/) On Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 holds an 88% Tomatometer from eight reviews.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/average_joe_2023) The series carries a 7.3/10 rating on IMDb from about 2,700 user ratings.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18070984/ratings/)
Critics placed the show in the wrong-place-wrong-time crime thriller tradition. Reviews noted visual and tonal influences including the blue lighting of *Ozark*, the overhead highway shots of *True Detective*, and [Coen brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/coen-brothers)-style dialogue and staging, and several drew comparisons to *Breaking Bad* as a story of ordinary people drawn into the criminal underworld.[14](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/average-joe-tv-review) • [15](https://time.com/6291441/best-tv-shows-june-2023/) • [16](https://www.tvline.com/interviews/average-joe-season-1-premiere-deon-cole-breaking-bad-bet-plus-1235005836/) Commercially, the first season became BET+'s No. 1 scripted drama during its debut week.[3](https://www.paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/average-joe-season-2-everything-you-need-to-know/)
## References
1. [Average Joe (BET+) Fact Sheet, Paramount Press Express](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=106603-average-joe-bet-facts-sheet)
2. [Is Average Joe Based on a True Story? What to Know About the Series, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/average-joe-release-date-news)
3. [Average Joe Season 2: Everything You Need To Know, Paramount+ Sneak Peak](https://www.paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/average-joe-season-2-everything-you-need-to-know/)
4. [Average Joe, Paramount Global Content](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/average-joe)
5. [Average Joe (2023) critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/average-joe-2023/critic-reviews/)
6. [Average Joe (2023), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/average_joe_2023)
7. [Average Joe (TV Series 2023– ) Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18070984/ratings/)
8. [How to Watch BET+ Shows On Paramount+, Paramount+ Sneak Peak](https://www.paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/how-to-watch-bet-plus-shows-on-paramount-plus/)
9. [Average Joe episode guide, Paramount+](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/average-joe/)
10. [Five TV Shows to Binge on BET+, BET.com](https://www.bet.com/article/cr4bf0/five-tv-shows-to-binge-this-season-on-bet)
11. [Average Joe Season 2 Finale Date, The MacObserver](https://www.macobserver.com/news/average-joe-season-2-finale-date-paramount-plus/)
12. [What is happening with BET+, CBSi Help](https://cbsi.my.salesforce-sites.com/CBSi/articles/en_US/Knowledge/PD-What-is-happening-with-BET?data=%29%7D%3F%29%7D%3F%29%7D%3F&popup=false&referer=sho.com%2Fott&template=ottShoTemplate)
13. ['Average Joe' Series Starring Deon Cole from BET Lined Up For Release on Netflix, What's on Netflix](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/average-joe-from-bet-lined-up-for-release-on-netflix/)
14. [Average Joe Starts Strong but Loses Momentum, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/average-joe-tv-review)
15. [The 5 Best New TV Shows of June 2023, Time](https://time.com/6291441/best-tv-shows-june-2023/)
16. ['Average Joe' Season 1 Premiere — Deon Cole On Breaking Bad Comparison, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/interviews/average-joe-season-1-premiere-deon-cole-breaking-bad-bet-plus-1235005836/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Crime and thriller series › Organized crime and heist series*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license