One Mississippi

...with only about six hours of content total. But so good. By the end of the last couple episodes of the 2nd season, I started wondering how all the plot lines could possibly be resolved by the end; knowing there's no 3rd season. The writers did an admirable job of resolving those plot lines. The 2nd season is a little weaker than the first, which has a lot more LOL moments for me. But I was very sad at having to leave a group of characters that I found both likeable and interesting. Wish this had gone on for a couple more seasons.

Brilliant scripts serve and the foundation for this pitch-perfect melancomedy that is the best series released in years. Working from the essential premise of tragedy + time = comedy, but only in expert hands, the production team and actors deliver standard family sitcom clichés in a completely new and "audience respectful" way. It's pure comedy professionalism at its best. A mom dies, a cat gets out, the crazy relatives come over, dating fiascos occur, but none of these tropes unfold with bad laugh tracks, phoned-in-performances, or predictable dialog. Gorgeous pauses of reflection, like setting up a song choice or waiting in a room, become moments in their own right, waiting for the next connection where characters figure out how to get through life together with soft clicks of human empathy. The audience can enjoy the moment without loud or overwrought performances substituting for drama. Laugh internally or externally, it's your choice but you will laugh even if it's just out of recognition. And refreshingly, Tig Notaro embraces her physical self in all forms - scarred, sexual, tired, embarrassed, intertwined and separate - both literally and figuratively. We rarely get to see that from women's roles on screen let along cancer survivors. Bravo, too, to the amazing cast. The real heart of the conflict and soul of this series isn't romantic or health struggles but Tig's evolving ties and confusion relating to her family particularly her step-father who's always called Bill. Jonathan Rothman is unbelievably perfect as Bill delivering the "dad" performance not as a silly or troubled social misfit or OCD outcast as so many shows are doing these days. His quiet tension and reserved paternal love is the perfect balance to Tig's neediness left in the void of her mother's loss, the loss of hugs and rocking in her lap for comfort. You keep hoping both of them could just learn to love the other just as they are ... and then they do, in small ways, even for just a moment, sometimes by asking about tuberculosis. Bonding moments come in strange ways. One Mississippi reminds us to grab them however they come.

"Created by Diablo Cody and Tig Notoro, One Mississippi loosely follows the life of Tig Notoro (who plays herself), as she travels back to her small hometown in Mississippi after the passing of her mother. A considerably morbid series with Tig's deadpan, sarcastic humour, in its two season run it has very few laughs, and is mostly a means of coping through comedy. The series gets stronger over its run, and season 2 even directly addresses its involvement with Louis C. K. in one of the boldest call-outs I've ever seen in a series, good job, I wish the show could have continued after that fiasco instead of dying with everything else he touched. Oh well. Definitely more a sad than funny show, this honest, bold comedy was worth watching.

For more Tig Notaro I'd highly recommend Under a Rock, a Funny Or Die produced digital show where Tig interviews celebrity guests to guess who they are, all available for free on youtube."

What a fantastic representation of love in so many ways. A true "Love Actually" for today's world. Humorous, real, and completely relatable.

The chemistry of all the actors is on point. Yes, a dark comedy for sure but with an honest feeling to it. It's not spiteful or biting, the characters accept each other for who they really are and where they are at in life.

Will likely rewatch at some point.

This is a brilliant TV show. I wish there were more seasons. Tig Notaro is fearless. It's a whole different world (for me at least), these people who are making impactful creative work from difficult life experiences. I feel inspired and that there might be hope for me still.

Tig's dry delivery of truth is what we all need. The character of Kate lights up the screen. The chemistry between them is beautiful. The other characters are seemingly less dimensional at first but over the course of two seasons, everyone is nuanced. The stories and sub-stories woven throughout never stop being compelling.

I suppose this was marketed as a comedy, and there are funny moments, but it's way more complicated at that. I think we need a new category for those shows that straddle the comedy/drama divide. I know there is "dramedy," but that seems reductive. The wry, insightful intelligence of this show doesn't fit into the existing classification system.

Wouldn't it be amazing if shows like this were regular fare on network TV? It shouldn't be hard to find them. I watched this because of the documentary about Tig, which blew me away. (I think you can still see it streaming on that other popular streaming service.)

Anyway, I am a bit speechless. I highly recommend this show.