Television was once a landscape filled with likable characters. As we watched, we imagined joining our favorites for a beer or an appetizer at a local chain restaurant. As The Sopranos came into power, anti-heroes became the lay of the land. We were entranced by their ability to make awful decisions, yet somehow remain enjoyable. Most recently, Succession has brought on a new era of programs featuring the absolute worst people in the world, but ones we love despite their lack of real human emotion. Hulu’s new series Such Brave Girls follows three of these despicable characters.
Created and starring Kat Sadler, the show follows Josie, her sister Billie, and their mom Deb as they deal with their own mental health issues, whether those are loudly discussed with the family or slipped under the rug as personality traits. Josie has past experiences in a psych ward and is coming to terms with her sexuality Billie is dealing with a non-existent relationship while frequently threatening to kill herself, and Deb is “parenting” her two kids while trying to fall in love with a man in order to have a bigger house.
The show initially presents itself as an absurdist comedy about mental health, which is an interesting concept to tackle. Characters often use their own struggles as jokes, which is beyond relatable. However, as the show progresses, that “brand” of comedy goes away and instead wants the viewer to revel in the awfulness of who is presented before them.
As the show began filming, Sadler described the series as “a family sitcom about trauma, but it’s more about us being narcissistic losers who are pathetically obsessed with what people think about us.” The unfortunate fact is their narcissism isn’t enjoyable, it comes across as trying too hard. Often, the worst characters can become the most beloved in comedy (Karen Walker or Jenna Maroney), but in this series, they come across as rather…boring.
In the first few episodes (we were given all six episodes for review), the show showcases an abundance of gross out humor that doesn’t fit the rest of the show’s comedic voice. Those gags quickly leave throughout the season, which does help lead the show to a stronger sense of self. Unfortunately, the sense of self still doesn’t connect. The abundance of grotesque behavior never veers far enough into absurdity to be enjoyed. It rather reads as annoying.
Sadler’s above comments about the characters needing to know what people think about them isn’t even that valid, either. Throughout the season, the only opinions that matter most are their own. Again, not necessarily a problem, but it would be nice to back up abhorrent characters with comedy that lands.
I am a part of the critical headspace as of late that everything should be taken with the preface of “Well, for me…” I have critics I tend to gravitate towards after years of reading and connecting with their written criticism. Not every critical take is going to be helpful when diving into a new piece of art. However, in this case, Such Brave Girls just didn’t do it for me. A subpar comedy with unenjoyable awful characters. I love an awful character…just not these ones.
Such Brave Girls premieres Friday, December 15th on Hulu.
More Hulu News:
- Take a Look Back at 14 Seasons of FX’s “Archer” in New Celebratory Video
- “Grey’s Anatomy” Coming to Combined Disney+/Hulu App While Many Disney Series Licensed to Netflix
- The Walt Disney Company Receives 27 Nominations At The 2024 Golden Globe Nominations
- Hulu Shares First Look at New Docu-Soap “Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise”
- Tracy Underwood Named President of ABC Signature