Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Counsel Culture’ on Prime Video, Nick Cannon’s Therapy Show That Addresses Hard Topics Like Grief, Depression, and Toxic Masculinity

A serious show about mental health and societal pressure is not something you’d expect from comedian Nick Cannon, but his new Prime Video talk show Counsel Culture is just that. Cannon, along with doctors, experts, and celebrity friends, hope to normalize hard conversations, and – forgive me for sounding surprised – it’s done really well.

COUNSEL CULTURE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Nick Cannon walks through the set of his new panel show and says, “Yo, I’m Nick Cannon and this is Counsel Culture. Now, I thought Counsel Culture was the perfect title for this show, a safe space and a brave place for men to be vulnerable. You know, we all make mistakes, but we should all be given the opportunity to correct them. That’s why here, we’re surrounded by professionals to help us heal, counsel and coach one another. It’s time for our voices to be heard and explore all the challenges that men go through. And as I always say, nothing is off limits.”

The Gist: I was definitely worried about what Cannon’s mission was when he explained that he wanted his show to be a place where men can correct their mistakes. Given that reality TV veterans Ray J and Lamar Odom appear in the show’s opening title sequence, I was worried that the mission here would simply be to give men who have acted immaturely or treated women poorly a pass. I’m happy to say that the show is not actually here to give anyone a pass, and it’s goals are actually pretty admirable. (I still don’t forgive Ray J for pushing Princess into a pool, but that’s my own issue.)

Cannon’s opening monologue sets the tone for this new show pretty well, and his goal to try and normalize and destigmatize male vulnerability is honorable. Dr. Ish Major and Dr. Mike Dow serve as Cannon’s “Counselmen” on the panel for every episode of the show, along with other guests with experiences that speak to the theme (in the first episode, which focused on anxiety and depression, Howie Mandel and relationship expert, mental health advocate Yolo Akili, and author Stephan Speaks also joined the panel). Tonally, the show seeks to have a real, serious dialogue about the topics at hand, and it doesn’t attempt to coddle anyone or pat itself on the back for having these hard conversations either. (Though Cannon takes questions from members of the studio audience, there is limited applause, which keeps the tone serious and the timing tight.) Other episodes include topics like grief, addiction, and dating, and while there are jokes here and there, ultimately, the show’s serious approach connects because it’s not making fun of anything, it’s acknowledging the realities of what it’s like to live, raise kids, or date in 2024.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Prior to watching, I assumed that, as it’s essentially a talk show with a panel of 5-6 men, this would be like an all-male version of The View. It’s not that at all, as the tone is genuinely respectful and seeks to take these subjects seriously and offer real help and ways to cope. It reminded me of the therapy sessions in VH1’s Couples Therapy (a show Dr. Mike Dow was also on), which were usually serious and insightful, despite the fact that many of the celebrities on the show were famous for their bad behavior.

Our Take: Back in 2014, I was an employee at VH1 and I’ll never forget that that was the year Nick Cannon made a guest cameo on Love and Hip Hop, advising his friend, rapper Peter Gunz, on how to handle a love triangle Peter was involved in. At the time, Cannon was hosting Wild ‘N Out and was still married to Mariah Carey (and had not yet fathered most of the children he now has) and he seemed like an impressive get for the reality show. But a random one, too, because why was this comedian counseling his friend with love advice? Now though, recalling that moment that he appeared on Love and Hip Hop makes Counsel Culture feel like a full circle moment, because in essence, the show brings in Cannon’s friends and peers and allows him to help them in the same way that he tried to help Peter by facilitating conversations about things like depression, grief, addiction, and relationships. Is it weird for Cannon to be the man moderating these conversations? My initial response is yes. But it turns out, he’s really good at it.

The goal of Cannon and his panel of experts is to normalize feelings of every kind, and Cannon is a successful moderator because he’s so open about his own struggles with things like anxiety and the loss of his young son, and doesn’t attempt to lighten the mood with many jokes. It’s clear that he wants this show to be taken seriously and he wants to help people. The show is most effective when it tries to make it clear that these vulnerable feelings people have are pretty universal, and when the experts on the show articulate how and why people feel the way they do.

The episode about grief is especially helpful as it tries to give tools to reframe loss and death and move forward from them in ways that honor the memories of loved ones. Similarly, episodes about fatherhood and toxic masculinity address harmful societal norms and the panelists want to educate people about the nuances that exist within these topics. The show opens itself up to criticism when it veers into how people are able to deal with mental health, simply because Cannon and his guests have far more resources than the average person, and while they’re able to take the time or spend the money to receive help, most average people don’t. This is pointed out on the show, but also feels like a much bigger issue about privilege and class; the show’s efforts are noble and at the very least, are trying to prompt conversations that many people aren’t having.

Parting Shot: “Remember, it’s not about cancel culture, it’s about Counsel Culture,” Cannon tells the audience as he signs off.

Memorable Dialogue: “I come from an era where mental health itself has a stigma attached to it. And then on top of that, being male has the double, ’cause you’re supposed to be strong, you’re not supposed to cry…and nothing makes you feel weaker than depression and anxiety,” Howie Mandel explains in the first episode.

Our Call: STREAM IT! Counsel Culture is not always an easy watch because it feels more like an educational tool than a talk show. If health class existed for adults, this would probably be required viewing. But it deserves praise for trying to publicize and promote conversations that we know we should all be having but which there isn’t often a platform for.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.