There may be plenty of gripes about snubs from this year's Emmy nominations, but one of the bigger letdowns in my estimation is Hulu's Difficult People. Emmy is rarely kind to cult shows and the comedy's caustic humor is admittedly not everyone's cup of tea. However with its enviable explosion of big names guest stars, you would imagine that the voters could have recognized it with a nomination in the guest acting categories.
And with the start of the second season, they are only upping the ante for their day planners. By now I'm sure you have been teased on upcoming stints from the likes Lin-Manuel Miranda and Julianne Moore after the premiere episodes already gave us Tina Fey and Nathan Lane. In fact, as it returned this week all of the discussion around the show seemed targeted on who would be popping up rather than what hilarity we could expect from the season itself. When the fun of the show is its rat-a-tat, layered punchlines and the bad behavior of its two leads, that tactic seems in disservice to a show that's only getting better and funnier.
So here are five reasons we should be excited about the return of Difficult People that have nothing to do with its celebrity guests...
Julie Klausner Is A Comedy Badass - Why is no one celebrating that a woman in comedy has a show that is very much her brainchild? She has created and written the show, starring in it as a variation of her own comedy persona - and she's the source of what makes the show so damn funny. If you haven't listened to her meandering and genius podcast "How Was Your Week?" you are missing out on comedy gold (though her Difficult People duties sadly have made installments infrequent)!
The Jokes Are Endless - Punchlines are stacked on top of and inside eachother, making rewatching even more rewarding for all of the jokes missed on the first viewing. The show is at it's funniest when jokes are later turned on their own head, like in the season premiere when Julie's joke about Anne Hathaway is revealed to have just been stolen from someone attacking Julie on Twitter. Smart editing and sight gags also balance out the witticisms nicely.
Billy Eichner Deserves More Credit Than He Gets - His Billy on the Street hosting gig is obviously his calling card and has produced some real doozies (also produced and co-written by Klausner), but the performance here is even more sly and cutting. What a relief to have an out and proud comic actor playing a similarly unapologetic gay man when most of his peers are still butching it up. And it doesn't hurt that he's adorable.
The Cultural References Are Brilliant - Difficult People is an equal opportunity offender taking aim at the high and lowbrow. It praises and condemns art and pop culture in equal measure, including the audience in the joke rather than tell us it is smarter than we are. The characters may be snobs, but the show certainly isn't.
But It's Actually About Friendship - For all of the insider jokes and New York-centric asides, it's easy to reduce the show to being about creative types and the industry. But what really is at its core is a supportive friendship, no matter the havoc they wreak on their lives or verbal torches they throw. There have been countless shows about the bond of friendship, but never one that so perfectly portrays the kind of connection you can have to the friend that loves the worst version of yourself.
BONUS REASON TO WATCH - Andrea Martin back on TV. Do you need another reason? Nope, you do not.
New episodes of Difficult People arrive on Hulu every Tuesday!