Mikayla's Media Corner #8

Hello, hello! With the less than ideal weather lately, I’ve been seeking comfort in the welcoming arms of sitcoms. Thirty minutes of brain numbing comedy, multiplied by countless episodes and here we are.

• Dollface follows a recently single woman as she reconnects with old friends that she neglected while in a relationship. It stars Kat Dennings, Brenda Song, Shay Mitchell, and Esther Povitsky as the core group of friends. I pretty much love any series that focuses on women building friendships and enjoyed watching this group of women. Seriously, who doesn’t love Brenda Song? She’s been iconic since her Disney days and her comedic timing is still gold. I will say the show oversimplifies some aspects of female relationships and at times relies too heavily on the gender binary, but I do enjoy the group of women, the fashion and colors they employed, and the overall message of female friendship being empowering. This series is campy, fun, and it’s coming back for a second season sometime this year. Find it on Hulu. (Link to image)

• Don’t Trust the B in Apt. 23 is a series that aired in 2012 and is also now on Hulu. It stars Krysten Ritter and Dreama Walker as new roommates living in New York City. In the first episode, June (Walker) moves to the city, loses her fancy job and apartment, and winds up living with Chloe (Ritter). We quickly learn that Chloe is the B in Apt, 23, a con artist and party girl that tries to manipulate June into leaving. Chloe’s best friend is James Van Der Beek playing a caricature of himself. The entire series is borderline absurd, but the actors somehow pull it off creating something funny, witty, and enjoyable to watch. They even foreshadowed Van Der Beek’s turn on Dancing with the Stars, creating an entire story arch around him prepping and eventually competing for the mirrorball trophy. If you’re looking for a comedy series that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and can be binged in a weekend, this is it! (Link to image)

• For all my rom-com fans, you should check out The Hookup Plan, it is a rom-com in series form. The main character, Elsa (played by Zita Hanrot), is a Parisian unlucky in love. Her best friend decides to jumpstart her confidence by hiring a male escort to help her. The plan gets out of hand, hijinks ensue, and lots of money is spent on Elsa’s dating life. I was skeptical of this show when I first started watching it. The premise felt very cringey, borderline mean. The characters are complex and not the most likable, but it works in this series, it makes them more human and relatable ( who doesn’t secretly set their best friend up with a male escort?) What I enjoyed about the series was Elsa’s storyline and growth. This series is currently on Netflix, it has two seasons and a quarantine special! (Link to image)

• I love The Good Place. That’s all you need to know, class dismissed. Kidding (kind of). I just finished rewatching it for the 6th(?) time, I lost count during COVID. Yes, I know I watch too much tv. For anyone who has been living under a rock or lacks taste, this show is one of my favorite sitcoms. It stars Kristen Bell and William Jackson Harper as two humans in the afterlife. In the show, Chidi Anagonye (Harper) teaches Eleanor Shellstrop (Bell) to become a good person through ethics and philosophy lessons. As Eleanor learns about ethics, we, the viewers, are also ingesting simplified and digestible ethics lessons. It’s great because moral philosophers are often so difficult to read it makes them inaccessible to most people (which is a problem). The Good Place created a show about ethics that is accessible without seeming preachy or condescending. It is so well written, the cast is hilarious, and it has an emotional impact. All the episodes are on Netflix. (Link to image)