Michelle Buteau's ‘Survival of the Thickest' returns, with trademark heart
One of the show's more charming elements is Buteau's idyllic vision of New York. In the world of 'Survival of the Thickest,' it's somehow always summertime, there's a fun, hip drag bar with a hot bartender where you can always get a table with your friends, and an artist like Khalil can afford a stylish loft by himself. Spending time there makes it seem like there's a fundamental optimism in the world that feels in short supply right now.
She's also crafted a universe full of queer, gender-non-conforming people of color, whose bodies don't conform to societal standards of thinness. Mavis's entire business model is built around the idea that these communities are not served by much existing fashion, so she's filling both a practical and spiritual need for them. If the show has an underlying ethos, it might be that looking and feeling beautiful and welcomed in the world where you live is as fundamental as any other right.
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Hence the show's deep warm-heartedness. If there's a downside, it's that in season 2 Mavis is doing so well that the story stalls out at times, and it's overall not quite as funny as season 1. Watching Mavis get into humiliating situations sounds like a cruel thing to hope for, but Buteau is an especially skilled physical comedian, and Mavis is someone who is both prone to embarrassment but infinitely capable of getting past it. She can get into cringey situations without the skin-crawling horror that underlies awkward moments for shows like 'The Office.'
As someone who watched a lot of '
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