CAST: AMRIT KAUR, ALYAH CHANELLE SCOTT, RENÉE RAPP, PAULINE CHALAMET
CREATED BY: MINDY KALING AND JUSTIN NOBLE
BLUF
A new HBO Max comedy from the brilliant mind of Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble is set on a college campus this time and there is nothing stereotypical about its name or storytelling.
The series introduces us to four 18-year-old freshmen girls attending a fictional liberal arts school Essex College arbitrarily assigned to live together.
Bela (Amrit Kaur), an ambitious comedy writer whose objectives in life at the moment apart from getting accepted into the school’s prestigious comedy publication is also to have sex with a guy who has abs; Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott), is a star athlete and a very propah senator’s daughter; Leighton (Reneé Rapp) is the trust fund kid with a sorority legacy and a closeted lesbian; and Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet—yes, sister of the other famous Chalamet), is an earnest, hopelessly naïve first-gen scholarship student who is meeting diverse people for the first time and is extremely unqualified at perceiving mockery.
THE MEAT AND THE POTATOES
The scandalous-sounding series title is a propah bait and a switch. Mindy Kaling knows exactly the imagery she is evoking for her audiences.
A lot like “Sex and the City”, this series is not about sex so much but about the experiences of these young women finding their freedom away from the prying eyes of their conservative parents.
In terms of the character arc, Bela and Leighton have more fascinating journeys than the other two.
Bela actually objectifies the other gender to a huge extent given her upbringing where there has been limited opposite gender exposure while growing up.
Leighton in her closeted personal life becomes the most interesting arc as the back story peels in.
IN THE KNOW
Essex College is like any other liberal arts school in New England, but the story makes the teacher-student relationship one of the cores of its narrative which seems like the writers have checked the boxes on all the basic stereotypical sub-plots that could be added to this genre.
But the gags and the wisecracks become more organic as the show progresses making for a really fun story that deserves a watch.
The cast is the series strength. It grows on you as you get to know the characters better. The speed, the thrill, and the momentum of college life grow on you as it grows on these characters.
The camera work, cinematography, and the art direction amalgamate in a real warm ride into the lives of these kids, and you end up wanting to see more of their journey.
WHAT WE LOVED
The actors
WHAT WE MISSED
Differentiators in the first few episodes
