Lady Dynamite

I saw Maria Bamford's stand-up special for Comedy Central years ago and loved it, she explains a little about herself in it and so I had a slight background knowledge of her, but didn't know anything about the show. The first episode was a little hard to follow, but it's supposed to be that way. As you keep watching, you get what she's going for and it's awesome. I think it's too awesome and too deep for some people, hence the stupid reviews like: "it's a failure"-to that I say "you're a failure, butt-face, just because you're not smart enough to get the joke doesn't mean it's not funny." Anyway, it's like she/they-(the cast is amazing and so talented, the fact that she got so many well-known people in the show tells you that she's genius, it takes a great comedian to make other comedians laugh)-zoom in and out on life stuff. Some of it is like big-picture, meaning-of-life stuff, some of it is about things a lot of average people struggle with, like doing too much or not being able to say no, and some is really specific issues that everybody may not relate to-like what do you do when someone you're dating dies and you have to be a part of their funeral but you really don't know them well? What do you do when you realize you thought you were dating someone and they had a totally different goal/idea of the relationship? And Maria takes those topics and comments on them in her unique and hilarious way. And she works in stuff about mental illness as well, which is honest and brave and ground-breaking, and also hilarious. It's hard to explain, but really this show is about everything and nothing all at once and it's a work of art.

Side note: Some people might feel uncomfortable about the frank discussion of mental health issues, psychologists, psychiatrists, and medications, but I think those are things a lot of people deal with in real life and real life things can be the basis for the funniest jokes. She is of course exaggerating about some things in the show, so don't think she's like a total nutcase in real life, sometimes art imitates life and sometimes art is just a total work of the imagination. It seems to me she is incredibly ordinary in the way she does her life, she just deals with different issues than some people, and she's also incredibly amazing in how she is brave enough to discuss those things openly, and she must be very emotionally intelligent and wise to have done the treatments she has and to avoid hiding her issues, because what it takes for a person to be successful in anything is self-awareness, honesty, and a willingness to ask and accept help when they need it. Athletes don't make it to the Olympics on sheer talent alone, and people with illness-physical or mental, short-term or chronic, don't make it to a place of wellness and balance without self-awareness, honesty and help. But that is a very hard-learned lesson and it takes time to get to a point of clarity about this, Maria has obviously done this with her life and she's sharing her wisdom with this show. I appreciate it, and I get it. And no, I'm not mentally ill-not that there's anything wrong with that ;)

Lady Dynamite is so zany and out there that it was a little difficult to get a grasp on when I first watched it. Ironically, my difficulty with the material wasn't because there's nothing like it on TV but because I saw traces of nearly everything else on TV: The cutaways of 30 Rock, the awkward attempts at social justice statements from Master of None, the use of a comedic veneer to mask trauma that's shown on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the 4th wall randomness of Man Seeking Woman or Family Guy, and the feminist celebration of woman as proudly dysfunctional adult from Broad City. That's not even bringing up the long list of shows that feature a comedic actor playing exaggerated versions of themselves pursuing showbiz start-up that starts with the Larry Sanders Show and goes all the way up to Comedians, Difficult People and Garfunkel and Oates (all relatively stale editions of the genre because all the good plots in this genre have been used up).

Welcome to Peak TV: Where the overabundance of innovative voices on TV makes it harder to stick out and a comic voice as original as Maria Bamford is penalized for not coming out five years ago.

What's good news is that a lot of these complaints are less valid after a scattershot pilot that's loaded with every gimmick imaginable. After that, the show starts to even out and one can see some of the better creative decisions behind the show. It helps to separate the show from other entries in the "comedians playing themselves" genre in that Bamford isn't trying to advance her show business career at all. At times, she seems blissfully ignorant of exactly how well she's doing (her faux sister Susan is alarmed at how much she makes at a studio session). In another episode, she turns down Judd Apatow because in that particular episode, her new focus on life is about doing as little as possible in life. After a few episodes, one can better make the argument that this even if it's a clichéd genre, Bamford's work is the ultimate personal statement: Maria Bamford is simply figuring out her life and way of expressing it on screen as she goes along.

The show is a bit hit-or-miss on the strength of its plots but it helps that the 2nd and 3rd episodes-- dating a bisexual guy, trying to form a family band, and awkwardly attempting to be politically correct-- are winners.

This show is amazing. It's certainly surreal, but the characters are well developed and every episode stands alone. The show is produced by the producers of Arrested Development and you can definitely see their influence here. Lots of puns, sight gags, and intelligent writing.

I loved the story arc of Maria's relationships and if you've ever had anxiety or known someone who did, this show is extremely relatable. It's not for everyone, but those who get it will love it. Also: Dean Cain! Patton Oswalt! Bridget Everett! Fred Melamed! It's not your typical stand-up show. I had only kind of heard of Maria Bamford before watching Lady Dynamite and now I want to see her whenever and wherever she performs. Just watch it already.

It's hard to describe what this show is, so many levels of comedy and drama, but it works.

Maria Bamford suffers from bipolar disorder, and this show is a semi-coherent fictionalized depiction of her life, how her career operates, her family, and the various people she interacts with in the entertainment industry.

Flitting back and forth in time, each episode covers a specific narrative, should she date this guy, is she going to get the big movie role, is she objectively funny, etc., but each is framed in the roller coaster of emotions that make up her mental state. When she's manic, it's a little off putting, and when she's depressed, it's sad, but her support system of friends, parents, agents and various helpers sort of keep her on track, sort of.

For those unfamiliar with Maria, dial up one of her standup shows so you get some feel of who she is before you dig in to this show. She is about as "alt" as "alt comedy" can be, but she has crafted a stage show and a persona that are truly endearing and entertaining.

Unlike other entertainers who suffer from mental illness and hide it, Maria embraces it, and this show to some degree gives us the world seen through her eyes.

At the beginning, I thought this show was, as people have said here, "derivative" and only marginally funny. Kept it on because I was doing something and didn't have the free hands to turn it off. I had a few chuckles and wasn't expecting much. But every single person on the show is a great comedian and/or actor, and the situations are novel. By the end of the second episode it had gained momentum, I was won over, but switched to The Americans. Then I woke up today and it was the only show I wanted to watch, for some reason it stuck with me. (Probably because it brings up memories of when I was in the music business and how people treated each other, and times when I made great money but walked away, but this time I'm laughing.) So I put on episode 3 and I've been laughing my ass off ever since. It gets funnier and funnier at each new episode!

I came onto IMDb just to find out more, and see there is a contingent for whom it isn't reaching. Well I would say, maybe you have to watch a few more episodes. But I'm someone who loved BoJack Horseman, Action, Party Down, Extras. Also, there are so many funny details that people might not get -- like the Minnesota hair when she flashbacks to Duluth, or the "Latin" saying on the wall of the church. When I see the flashbacks, I'm laughing already, before anyone opens their mouths.