It has been a long two years since the last series of Insecure. In fairness, its creator, Issa Rae, had a few small things to attend to – starring in the hilarious rom-com-gone-wrong The Lovebirds and the sizzling rom-com-gone-right Photograph, as well as launching her own record label, Raedio, with Atlantic.
With Rae finally having found the time to return to the show that made her name, season four is here. If you have safely avoided the minefield of spoilers, you are in for a wild ride.
The fictional Issa (played by Rae) and her crew of thirtysomething friends – Molly, Kelli, Tiffany – have spent the past three seasons trying to upgrade themselves while navigating messy sex lives, petty feuds and eating and drinking their way across south Los Angeles – with boyfriends, side pieces, flings and husbands in tow. As they have stumbled through life, the comedy has found hilarity in their successes and screw-ups – and in all the mundane aspects of their lives.
Here are my favourite moments of the show so far:
Issa’s freestyling
“Maybe it’s dry as hell, maybe it really smells ...” This seminal moment from the first episode introduces Issa’s low-key, but impressive, hobby of rapping. On a night out to cheer up Molly after another dating mishap, she runs into an old flame. Eager to impress this guy, who is definitely not her boyfriend, Issa goes on stage and blissfully spins her friend’s personal life (and gynaecological concerns) into an alarmingly catchy freestyle.
The couch scene
Things between Issa and her ex-boyfriend Lawrence are very much off, but how did they get here? Much of their couple’s time together plays out around the cushy yellow sofa in their apartment. Using it as a focal point, a flashback depicts the trajectory of their relationship, from giddily unwrapping the couch to lying intertwined watching films and kissing in their early days. As the cracks grow, so does the gap between them; their harmonious couch becomes the battleground for arguments, then silence, until one of them gets up and walks away. The sequence lasts only 30 seconds, but it is an achingly familiar portrayal of how a relationship can fall apart.
Thug Yoda
Many of Insecure’s best bits come from the recurring characters. (See Due North, the parody show-in-a-show that depicts a love story between a slave, played by Regina Hall, and her owner, played by Scott Foley). But Thug Yoda, who topped a list of every man in the show, captured hearts with only a few appearances. He is Issa’s neighbour – and happens to be a gang member. While he counsels Lawrence over a birthday disaster, he mentions he is about to watch the “Bare Bears” with his young daughter. When she corrects him – “It’s Care Bears, Daddy” – Thug Yoda bends down and sweetly corrects her. “Uh-uh-uh-uh; we don’t use no C-words, sweetheart. This a Blood house.”
I’ve been saving
When Issa finds herself broke and staying on her ex-fling’s couch, she reaches out to Kelli for financial advice. It turns out the rank of credit tiers go: “Excellent, good, poor, bad and then Issa,” but she reveals she has been putting money away with an “I’ve been saving” dance. In a heartwarming moment of solidarity, Kelli joins in like a good friend should and hypes Issa with appropriately placed “ayys”. But the moment is cut savagely short when, after seeing the balance sheet, Kelli’s supportive “ayys” turn into unimpressed “nuh-uhs”.
When Kelli got tased
Issa and friends head to Beychella for Tiffany’s pre-baby blowout. “Beyoncé or bust” turns to the latter really quickly when they get disastrously high – Tiffany not included (although she later admits, tearfully, that she took a tiny bite of an edible). Just before Queen Bey makes it to the stage, a belligerent Kelli starts a fight and gets them kicked out. With her voided wristband still fresh on the ground, she makes a run for the gate, gets tased by security, drops cold and wets herself, dramatically shouting: “Remember me different!” In a time when the tense relationship between African Americans and law enforcement is in focus, what could have been a traumatic moment is one that makes you cackle out loud instead.
Season four of Insecure starts on 23 June at 2am (repeated at 9pm) on Sky Comedy
