SummaryAspiring journalist Annie (Aidy Bryant) juggles her boyfriend (Luka Jones), her mom (Julia Sweeney) and her boss (John Cameron Mitchell) in this comedy based on Lindy West's memoir.
SummaryAspiring journalist Annie (Aidy Bryant) juggles her boyfriend (Luka Jones), her mom (Julia Sweeney) and her boss (John Cameron Mitchell) in this comedy based on Lindy West's memoir.
In its first season, Shrill is solidly an adult coming-of-age story, anchored in the fact that for a lot of people confidence does not come ready-baked.
This was a thoughtful and enjoyable show. I came here looking for perspective on the treatment of African American characters on the show, and instead the only negative critics embodying Annie's troll on the show. Find something else to do, losers!
Shrill is awesome. Its fun, funny, filled with heart and explores a perspective that is often not heard. Aidy Bryant is fantastic. Entertaining and relevant. Props to Lindy West!
Six is not enough, and the final half-hour of the season arrives too soon. She clearly has more to offer than her excellent “SNL” sketch work. Amy Schumer has covered some of the same territory, but in a broadly comic way. Bryant has a light touch that buoys the humor, and she brings admirable restraint and sweetness to the drama. She’s a treat.
There are several pivotal conflicts that would almost definitely land harder with more room to breathe; in fact, the last episode feels more like a penultimate chapter revving up to something bigger than the finale it actually is. But when Shrill warms up, it sparks in exactly the way that has made West’s fiery writing so satisfying over the years.
Saturday Night Live's marvelous Aidy Bryant brings warmth and a zen grace to a role that's still a work in progress after only six episodes. [18-31 Mar 2019, p.13]
In a lot of ways, Shrill takes the formula presented by Lena Dunham's 'Girls,' makes it more palatable, and refines it specifically to highlight fat shaming in everyday society. This alone deserves praise as so few shows dare to present anything other than a sample-size actress as the star, but it goes further by adding nuance and heart to each unique story line. The "good guys" and "bad guys" in this conflict often fight on both sides, showing support towards Annie (Aidy Bryant) when it's easy, then their true cards when times get tough. As an active user of the Gawker Media platform during Lindy West's time at Jezebel, I was also thrilled to see the commenting environment--again, both its pros and cons--given ample screen time in this limited series.
What keeps the series from soaring right now, however, is the limited range of emotions Bryant provides to her character, staying pretty well entrenched in the "millennial nice" that laughs at pretty much everything, doesn't take things seriously, and always has Mommy and Daddy there to help her. The supporting cast surrounding Bryant often seem to be reacting to a character that isn't fully fleshed out by her and ends up feeling a little underbaked. I would have really liked to see more depth to her character who has genuine reason to be hurting. The Lindy West I know was loud and bombastic. I know it's only inspired by her, but I would have liked to have seen a little more of that fire and vigilante spirit. Certainly, though, Shrill has done enough to bring me back for more episodes when Hulu decides to release them.
Annie's Roommate ruins the show. She's supposed to be the edgy straight forward comedy character but she's just cringy and pure racist attitude.
Outside from her roommate, Shrill is an entertaining show that follows a woman that never stood up for herself and just allowed things to happen. Her transformation of accepting herself is entertaining. It's a nice little show to watch if you have nothing else to do. No amazing performances but is it better than most. Aidy nails a lot of expressions and you can feel the discomfort of the situation. Then it cuts to a scene with Annie and her roommate..... Just kidding lol, Shrill is a decent show if you can get past her roommate.
I started off liking the show and then felt it got worse and worse with each episode. The finale was just plain bad and not even a little believable (supposedly it is based on the truth but I don't buy that for a second). This show is tailor-made for (almost pandering to) a "woke" audience, so if that's not you, you might not want to even start. I thought this would be funnier than it is, but it does have a couple of good laughs. Honestly, it's kind of boring and there's nothing surprising. That said, the central idea of learning self-acceptance is a nice one, and I think the main actress does a really good job. I started out liking her roommate but that wore off pretty fast. The Dan Savage character is funny. We're constantly reminded of the lead character's brilliance as a writer without ever seeing any evidence.