I love Broad City. Thanks to the hipster buddy comedy that focuses on two young Brooklyn women and their friendship, a younger generation of television watchers are learning about street harassment, rape culture and patriarchy in a way that’s accessible (and hilarious). It’s this feminist’s dream come true.
Here’s the problem: when I watch the show I feel a bit like an imposter, or worse, the “cool mom”, who wants to shop at the mall with her daughter. At 36, it’s not that I’m generationally much different than stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson – it’s just that my Williamsburg days are behind me. I’m more about parent-teacher conferences and shopping at Whole Foods than having drug-induced adventures there.
That’s why I’m so grateful for the fantastic feminist sitcom Playing House. It’s a brilliant show for those of us who are a bit too old to smuggle pot in our vaginas or peg our male neighbor with a strap-on dildo (actually, you’re never too old for that). The USA series that debuts its second season today may be one of the funniest – if underappreciated – shows out right now.
As comedian Jamie Kilstein wrote last year: “I was late to this show because I literally thought the only person that watched USA [Network] was my mom.” Kilstein calls the show “a hidden delight” and he’s right – the success of Playing House has been much more low-key than that of its comedy counterparts.
Playing House focuses on the friendship between show creators and stars Lennon Parham and Jessica St Clair. St Clair’s character, Maggie, leaves her job in China to help Parham’s Emma raise her daughter after she finds her husband cheating with a cam-girl.
Parham and St Clair, who have been writing partners for years, met over a decade ago while they were at the Upright Citizens Brigade and co-wrote and starred in the short-lived sitcom, BFFs. Their improv background shows - the writing is sharp and the guest stars are stellar. (One stand-out co-star is Keegan-Michael Key as St Clair’s high school boyfriend.)
As in Broad City, there are plenty of hijinks, but they’re centered around not-so-young-adult themes – like becoming friends with your first love’s wife and having sex with a divorce lawyer. But the real draw is the relationship between Parham and St Clair, who hit the nail on the head when it comes to depicting female friendship and its endurance through romantic relationships, careers and children.
We’re in the middle of an incredible feminist comedy moment. Between Amy Schumer, Mindy Kaling, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Jessica Williams, it’s an embarrassment of lady-riches. (Though let’s not forget that Wanda Sykes and her detachable vagina got there first.)
But Parham and St Clair have put together something brilliant, and deserve the same kind of accolades being showered on Schumer, Glazer and Jacobson. There may not be sex while Skyping or celebratory twerking, but for this 30-something Playing House is playing it just right.
