At least as far back as The Honeymooners, TV sitcoms reveled in the concept of the fat, loutish husband married to the thin, pretty, smart wife. With Season One of AMC’s Kevin Can F**k Himself, we find this cliché turned on its ear.

The show portrays Allison McRoberts (Annie Murphy), a stereotypical sitcom wife married to self-centered, heavyset Kevin (Eric Petersen). While aspects of the series depict the TV comedy view, others show her more reality-based struggles.

This two-Blu-ray set includes all eight episodes from Kevin’s first season. The plot synopses come from the series’ official site.

Living the Dream: “Kevin throws his annual ‘Anniversa-rager’ party with help from Patty (Mary Hollis Inboden), Neil (Alex Bonifer) and Pete (Brian Howe). After Patty reveals the truth about her bank accounts, Allison goes on a bender and makes a decision to take back control of her life.”

If nothing else, Kevin offers a daring concept. Whenever Kevin himself appears, the series goes with the sitcom format, whereas anytime he leaves the scene, the more dramatic approach occurs.

This seems like a clever idea, especially in the way it contrasts the casual way sitcoms denigrate women with reality. I’m not sure Kevin can sustain this across eight episodes, but “Dream” manages to launch matters well.

New Tricks: “Allison witnesses an overdose and has an idea. It's Belichick hoodie day and Kevin feuds with the neighbors over a stolen package. Following a mysterious business card, Allison is led to Patty's salon in town.”

Though I describe the non-Kevin scenes as “dramatic”, that doesn’t mean they lack laughs. Rather, they simply go for a darker comedic tone, one that doesn’t indulge in the broad silliness of the sitcom elements.

These segments stick with a bleak view, as “Tricks” shows Allison’s efforts to plot Kevin’s murder and also score drugs. I remain unsure that the series can sustain this across eight shows, but “Tricks” intensifies matters in a compelling manner.

We’re Selling Washing Machines: “Allison discovers the truth about Patty's Salon. After a fight, Kevin and Neil compete in a chili cook-off. Allison's revenge inadvertently dries up the towns pill supply. Patty almost gets busted in a local pharmacy raid and confides in Allison.”

After two Allison-focused shows, Patty becomes more prominent here, and that adds some spark to the proceedings. The emphasis on Patty also allows us to get an even stronger contrast between the bizarre sitcom world and the more reality-based material. These “broadened horizons” turn “Machines” into a quality show.

Live Free or Die: “A detective questions Patty about the pharmacy bust. Allison and Patty go on a road trip. Kevin comes up with a new money-making scheme in the basement of the McRoberts home. After multiple setbacks, Allison admits the truth about her plan to Patty.”

As implied by the general synopsis, Kevin offers a female empowerment story, and the farther into the show we go, the more we see Patty’s role in that. Granted, this can feel cliché in its own right, but the characters seem engaging so this develops another good show.

New Patty: “Allison pushes the limits to see what she is capable of. Kevin, Neil and Pete attempt to replace Patty after kicking her out of the group. An ominous Nick (Robin Lord Taylor) shows up at Patty's salon. A new job opportunity opens up for Allison at Bev's Diner.”

With the series’ increasing portrayal of the Allison/Patty relationship as well as the emphasis on potential violent retribution, Kevin increasingly feels like a meta version of Thelma and Louise. The plot thickens here, and this becomes an intriguing series of developments.

The Grand Victorian: “Allison and Patty make a deal with Nick. Kevin celebrates his birthday with two dinners. To Patty's surprise, she goes on a date with Tammy (Candice Coke) at the Vic House. Allison confronts Nick about going through with the plan her way.”

“Grand” feels more sit-com-ish in general, as even the “drama plot” leans that way. This works surprisingly well, and it feels like a nice detour to get a show with a little less darkness than most.

Broken: “Nick's timeline shifts as Allison and Patty prepare for the big night. Kevin, Neil and Pete start a band, but Neil gets paranoid that Kevin has other plans when he finds a fertility clinic brochure in the trash. Tammy and Patty get closer.”

Season One builds toward its end with an episode that pushes toward the “will they kill Kevin or not?” climax. It mixes comedy with tension in a positive manner.

Fixed: “Detectives question Allison about the night before. After the trauma of the break in, Kevin searches for meaning by running for city council. Kurt (Sean Clements) plants a seed of doubt, while Allison and Patty deal with the repercussions of their actions.”

Season One concludes with a more social bent, as Kevin’s attempt to attain elected office feels like a pretty clear commentary on current politics. It also ends on a frustrating and inconclusive note, which makes the episode less than a great finish to the season.

Still, I find more than enough to like about Season One to pique my interest for Season Two. Kevin overcomes its gimmicks to become a pretty involving series.

Kevin Can F**k Himself appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The episodes boasted terrific visuals.

Sharpness always worked well. Nary a sliver of softness materialized here, as the shows seemed well-defined and accurate.

Neither jagged edges nor shimmering popped up, and I saw no edge haloes. No source flaws arose either.

Colors depended on the format. The sitcom scenes went with bright, lively hues, while the dramatic sequences opted for blue and amber. All these came across as designed.

Blacks felt deep and dense, while low-light shots appeared concise and well-developed. The programs came across in a positive manner.

Though not memorable, the series’ DTS-MA 5.1 audio felt appropriate for the content. This left us with soundscapes that emphasized music - especially during the sitcom moments – and general ambience.

Did anything more dynamic occur? We got a thunderstorm at one point, and bars/restaurants added involved, but not a whole lot came up here.

Audio quality satisfied, with speech that sounded natural and concise. As noted, effects lacked much to do, but those elements came across as accurate and without distortion.

Music appeared warm and rich. Nothing here impressed, but the audio worked fine for the material.

Three featurettes appear on Disc Two, and A Look at the Series goes for five minutes, 30 seconds. It offers comments from creator Valerie Armstrong, executive producer Craig DiGregorio, and actors Annie Murphy, Alex Bonifer, Eric Petersen, Mary Hollis Inboden, Raymond Lee and Brian Howe.

“Look” examines the series’ concept, story and characters. A few insights emerge, but much of “Look” feels promotional.

Meet the Characters lasts six minutes, 58 seconds and involves Armstrong, Murphy, DiGregorio, Inboden, Petersen, Howe, Lee and Bonifer. As expected, a few more notes about the series’ roles come up here. Like “Look”, it lacks much depth.

Finally, Making of the Show spans six minutes, 15 seconds and brings notes from Armstrong, Murphy, DiGregorio, Inboden, Bonifer, Petersen, Howe and Lee. “Show” views the split between the multi-cam and single-cam aspects of the series as well as some episode specifics. While not a great featurette, “Show” offers a few good nuggets.

With Kevin Can F**k Himself, we get a clever approach to the story of a woman’s attempts to find herself. A quirky blend of sitcom and drama, the show usually works. The Blu-ray brings excellent picture along with acceptable audio and minor supplements. Though it occasionally threatens to teeter off the edge of its own pretensions, Kevin mostly offers a compelling series.