Difficult People

Great new comedy!

It's been a while since I watched something labeled as comedy and actually laughed because of it. I have survived through many comedy series where the laughter in the background is making me feel guilty that I am not laughing when it is clearly a "Hey! This part is funny!You should laugh as well!" sign. Watching this was refreshing.

Mean comedy is not really that new and it is not really nice when you encounter it in real life if it is enforced by negativeness. But even with that, I really did laugh and enjoyed the first three episodes.

It might be a just a bit harder for some with all of the celebrity references, but even without that knowledge, they will make you laugh.

I hope that people will be able to look at this for what it is: a comedy series. And in comedy, nothing is offensive.

I went into this show knowing literally nothing about it.

The show follows two friends Billy and Julia trying to break into show business. They dislike pretty much everyone except each other and are completely narcissistic and shallow.

Both of the main characters are constantly talking trash about celebrities whom they are obviously envious of. I really enjoy how self absorbed the main characters are as I feel like it's pretty much a job requirement for a comedian or actor.

Although a lot of the jokes targeting various celebrities are funny, a lot of the humor comes from the characters dropping a joke to the wrong audience. One example is the controversial Blue Ivy joke. Billy and Julia attend a dinner party hosted by some rather square friends. Julia tells a story about posting a tweet that said She can't wait for Blue ivy to be old enough for R Kelly too pee on." Everyone at the party is offended and rather than back peddling, she continues to explain the joke further. I did find that joke to be pretty funny, but I feel like the people getting offended are failing to recognize that the joke was intended to show how socially daft the main characters are as opposed to just being offensive for the sake of being offensive. There are also a ton of great guest stars including a "Sober Magician" Named Abra Cadouglas played by Kate Mckinnon who only does magic tricks that tie into her sobriety.

This show is MA and takes full advantage of being able to say what it wants. Although it is edgy and no at times dark you really do emotionally connect to the characters.

I foresee a long run from thus show. I am very impressed with "Difficult People" so far and look forward to seeing a long run it may not have been able to have on traditional television.

I am totally obsessed with this show. I feel like it was made for me. I love talking about random celebrities! But I can't really watch it with other people without having to answer the question "Who's that?" or "What does that mean?" every 30 seconds. Billy Eichner was my absolute favorite actor on Parks and Recreation (he played Craig) and I am totally in love with his street comedy show. Thank god Difficult People exists. The fact that it's successful makes me feel like maybe the rest of the world is starting to be as mean and weird as me! And I love that it's about people in their 30s and not their 20s. I can't stand shows about super successful people right out of college where everyone has their dream job and dream life and everything is perfect. This show is real life, for people who are as cynical as me. I love it.

This is a show for a very narrow demographic. The range of pop culture put downs is vast. It's hard to imagine anyone but gay, full-time couch potatoes understanding all of it. I come close to that category, but I'm old. Younger versions of me will probably get more of it. And, you've got to be quick to even take it all in. The show may be just a so-so framework for a barrage of rat-a-tat-tat jokes, but oh, what jokes!

The lines are tossed off so fast and are so all-over-the-place topically they barely register. If you waste time laughing, you'll miss the next joke. Not many shows can work in a line like "If I've learned anything, it's that there are limits to even what Viola Davis can make plausible." Now, for me, that's funny. And it's funny because it's true. But I can easily understand that a lot of people would be baffled. Not only do you have to know who Viola Davis is, you have to have seen enough of her work to know that she's been in some real turkeys.

I especially like some of the side players, truly original characters we haven't seen before. E.g., the transgender server who's a 911 conspiracy theory nut. When she says to a co-worker, "I wish you'd been on Flight 93," it's stunning. I'm not sure what my reaction was. Did I laugh because it was funny, or was I just astonished by the anything-is-fair-game attitude? I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. I was entertained, and in the broadest sense of the word.

You may hate the characters, and you may not like their constantly snarky attitude. But you have to admire how they can simultaneously celebrate and fearlessly skewer the values American pop culture has engendered in us all.

Difficult people is about two really awful people who go around being awful and catty and mean.

This can work, as it does in You're the Worst. But Difficult People is far less ambition. It basically feels like a couple of comedians who thought it would be funny to make a show where they just do insult comedy every week.

The first episode was *mildly* amusing. I laughed once or twice, even though I found the characters unlikable and the premise thin. The second episode had all the flaws of the first but was even less funny. So that's the last episode I'll be watching.