This Show is Overrated and Shamefully Derivative
I've seen critics practically cream themselves over "Masters of None," and the show is currently sitting at a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with love from critic's groups and even a Golden Globes nomination, but it doesn't seem to matter that there isn't a single truly original thing about this show and Aziz has "borrowed" nearly every element from something else...
1. The Set-Up...There have been literally 100s of comedies about thirty-year-olds dating in a big city, and dozens on TV more recently that featured an ethnically diverse group with at least one gay friend--from Happy Endings to New Girl. There have been nearly as many about comedians, actors, or creative types trying to find work in NYC like How to Make in America.
Even saying "But not one starring an Indian!" would forget that The Mindy Project has been on the air for four seasons.
2. The Vibe...Very-liberal, politically correct (but R-rated) comedies about millennials are in right now as evidenced by "Girls" and "Broad City." "Master" is clearly influenced by this but without the bite of something like "Inside Amy Schumer."
3. The Plotlines...The overwhelming majority are taken from the first three seasons of "Louie"...
"Plan B" Dev wonders about parenthood and takes care of two kids he's ill-equipped to handle...Louie frequently talks about parenthood and has his niece dumped on him in "Niece" and a destructive kid named "Never" dumped on him in "Barney/Never" an episode that also features a black and white sequence (as "Plan B" does). [And the mom of the two kids in "Plan B" is Maria Dizzia who also starred as a stressed-out mom in "Louie."]
"The Other Man" episode was covered by the second episode of Louie's first episode (he romances a high school crush who is now married), and the revenge aspect of Aziz screwing a jerk's wife is covered in "Bully" when Louie follows a bully teenager home after the kid wrecks his date.
"Hot Ticket" a bad date turns into another one with a "Manic Pixie Dreamgirl" (Noel Wells is definitely playing this type reminiscent of her Zooey Deschanel impressions on Saturday Night Live). In "Daddy's New girlfriend," Louie turns one rejection into a date with a Manic Pixie Dreamgirl. [Doing anything to get coveted tickets is also a plotline in Louie's "Tickets" episode.]
"Nashville" Dev takes a trip to the Southeast...in Louie's season 1, episode 5 "Travel Day/South" Louie goes to Birmingham which is only a few hours South of Nashville. Both have a hard time getting back to NYC.
"Ladies and Gentlemen" Episode begins with a creepy male encounter on an NYC street...Louie's "Halloween" episode begins with an unnerving encounter when Louie is trick or treating with his two daughters, and his daughter frightens away a much scarier grown man.
"Old People" Dev has an encounter with the crusty grandfather of his friend and then gets great advice from his girlfriend's grandmother...Louie's "Country Drive" has him talking to a crusty, racist relative and the previous episode "Joan" has him getting great advice from Joan Rivers.
"Indians on TV" Dev doesn't give the casting director what they want in an audition and finds an "Indian Perfect Strangers" objectionable because it's lame and stereotypical...Louie blows a minor role in "Cop Movie" by not doing what the director tells him to do, and finds the lameness and sexism of his "Oh, Louie" sitcom enough to walk away from the pilot. [Aziz also reappropriated the Scott Rudin/Amy-Pascal racist emails about Obama into this episode's "curry" joke.]
"Parents" ...Even though the episodes are quite different, Louie has an episode called "Dad" where he also struggles to make sense of his relationship with his dad and his uncle guilts him into not forgetting his heritage. [The flashbacks with their fathers has also been featured on "Fresh Off the Boat."]
"Finale" Dev blows off going to Tokyo with his estranged girlfriend so he can instead go to Italy. In the season 3 finale "New Year's Eve" Louie blows off going to Mexico with his sister's family so he can go to China instead.
General Themes of dating, parenting, and being a struggling actor/comic are all addressed in "Louie" too. The subplot with Dev's black virus movie "The Sickening" but getting cut out of the final film is not much different than Louie doing a great audition taping for The Late Show only to not get it.
In summation: How can people call this a fresh new voice in comedy? There is barely one element in this show that hasn't been borrowed from somewhere else.