‘Somebody Somewhere’ Review: Back to Kansas
The second season of Bridget Everett's 'Somebody Somewhere' is a funny and heartwarming celebration of the ordinary.
HBO has perfected shows that look at the upper one percent, with Succession and The White Lotus both recent examples of hit TV obsessed with wealth. It begs the question: What about everyone else?
Even the shows with stories that revolve around everyday people, most times, are worlds away from our own, making Somebody Somewhere (★★★★★), which thrives on the everyday people, a celebration of the ordinary.
All about finding love and laughter in Manhattan, Kansas, the series is based on star Bridget Everett’s life, with the Duplass brothers returning behind the camera alongside creators Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen. Everything you loved about the first season is back in even greater force, firmly cementing Everett’s comedy as one of the best on the air.
Season two finds Sam (Everett) now living with Joel (Jeff Hiller), who is renting out his home. Meantime, her sister Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison) is freshly reeling from a divorce and her daughter going off to college. Both are having a hard time dealing with their mother (Jane Brady), who recently had a stroke and doesn’t like her children.
One of the biggest changes is the untimely death of Mike Hagerty, who played Sam’s father. Instead of killing him off in the show, he is “fishing down in Corpus Christi,” and is given a farewell of sorts in the first episode. After being away nine months on sabbatical, Fred (Murray Hill) returns to help square away things at home.
The trials and joys of small-town life are lost upon most people, but Somebody Somewhere does an amazing job of combining humor and strength. In the show’s opening minutes, Sam and Joel are trying to get their steps in while playing “pass or pound it” with people in the park.
As the two talk about several miscellaneous things and say whether they’d fuck strangers, you really get the sense that the pair are friends, not only from their quick banter, but from the accurate ways the two die laughing, whether it be doing simple stretches or telling each other goodnight while giggling like kids at a sleepover.
Their friendship is full of warmth, so much so that it makes you feel you’re not only in on the joke, but you’re right there with them. Hiller and Everett are at the top of their acting games. While Everett’s comedy has been known to be explosive, she shows amazing tact, quietly going for smart jokes and not overdoing things, hitting home in the more somber scenes.
Hiller feels so alive in his character that it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role. With the bulk of the show being the two spending their days together, they swiftly go between humor and genuine emotion, often to impressive effect.
As Sam is cleaning out her father’s garage, Everett finds humor and nostalgia in the moment, before calling Joel to have a cry. As she breaks down, she doesn’t sob or wail, instead only asking for Joel to be there with her for a second. When Joel threatens to bring over a drink shaker, the two resume their laughter.
Somebody Somewhere is adamant about its love of its Midwest setting, never letting the humor or shade come from a mean place. The shots of open cornfields and small townhouses are beautifully done, while the story truly feels soaked in its rural setting. Whether it’s simply knowing someone at every single store you go to while running errands, there is a widespread authenticity anyone who knows small-town life can relate to.
Even the downsides of small-town life, like fearing what your post-divorce dating life will be and what people will think of you, aren’t overwrought with melodrama and blend beautifully within the show’s warmth and humor. The dominant story of the series has never been groundbreaking and remains predictable, but with jokes every other second, you end up not really caring.
If you loved Parks and Recreation or Schitt’s Creek and haven’t seen Somebody Somewhere, then give it a try — it fits the model. Not only is it a beautiful comedy about loving the life you’ve got, but it’s the queer show that often falls to the wayside, with amazing LGBTQ representation in a setting that infrequently fails to celebrate our community. From top to bottom, Somebody Somewhere is simply once in a lifetime television that will make you smile.
Season two of Somebody Somewhere airs weekly on Sunday nights on HBO and HBOMax through May 28. Visit www.hbo.com.
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