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Buzz Feed
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Hidden-Gem TV Shows On Hulu
How To Die Alone (2024) How strange it must have felt to deliver an acceptance speech on behalf of a series that had just been canceled a few weeks prior. This was the case for Natasha Rothwell who, accepting the award for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series at the Indie Spirits, spoke of her time at the helm of the short-lived How To Die Alone with positivity and grace. (And a call to action for beta blockers to have "more beta blocking.") Best known for her supporting roles on Insecure and The White Lotus, Rothwell took a much more active creative role in this 30-minute Hulu comedy series, serving as both its creator and lead, Melissa, a JFK Airport employee whose brush with death causes her to finally prioritize love and happiness. Despite failing to reach wider audiences during its single-season run, it was an undeniable critical success. Watch it on Hulu. Reservation Dogs (2021–23) I recently mentioned Reservation Dogs in the context of shows that failed to get Emmy recognition until their very last season. And, while we'll never know what it was that finally tipped the scales during S3 (and secured not only an Outstanding Comedy Series nod, but a Lead Comedy Actor nod, too), what is clear is that this FX show has had an extremely passionate fanbase pushing for its success from the very beginning. Count the BuzzFeed Streaming Team among this fanbase. The series which follows four Indigenous teens from rural Oklahoma, who do odd jobs and commit petty crimes in hopes of one day being able to leave the reservation, was shouted out by Danica Creahan in 2021 as a show not enough people are watching and, again, as one of the best shows of 2021. Watch on Hulu. Casual (2015–18) You might know her best as the pesky HR rep following Deborah and Ava around on Hacks (or from her many perfectly calibrated supporting roles, which are too many to name) — but from 2015 to 2018, Michaela Watkins had center stage in the family comedy Casual. In it, she played Valerie, a recently divorced therapist and single mother who moves in with her younger (and crucially, single) brother (Tommy Dewey), the creator of a successful dating app. Her daughter (Tara Lynne Barr — who I will forever mix up with Emilia Jones) is wise beyond her years and has a dynamic with her mother that asks: What if Lorelai and Rory Gilmore but messier? Sneakily wise and acutely observed in its depiction of listlessness in your 30s, this is a show that you might want commit to. Watch it on Hulu. Bunheads (2012) Speaking of Rory and Lorelai, Amy Sherman-Pallidino (creator of Gilmore Girls) is unfortunately no stranger to a one-season cancellation. Long before Étoile on Amazon Prime Video, there was ABC Family's Bunheads — the network's answer to Glee, which proved to be a critical darling but a big swing and a miss where ratings were concerned. The series concluded after just 18, shaggy episodes — more than enough airtime to elicit some strong feelings about Sherman-Palidino's trademark fast-talking women at the show's center. Namely, Broadway legend Sutton Foster's Michelle Simms (my thoughts are largely positive, for the record), the series' lead, who is plucked from her life as an unhappy Las Vegas showgirl to work alongside her new mother-in-law at a ballet studio. No matter how you feel, this ranks among the ASP oeuvre; you'll agree with me when I say that, when it comes to comfort viewing, you can't do much better than it on Hulu. Devs (2020) Calling all Alex Garland heads. Maybe you're hot off a 28 Years Later watch, or saw Civil War and wondered what else Garland and Nick Offerman might be able to cook up together. Look no further than this eight-part limited series which stars Offerman as a tech-mogul CEO involved in a massive cover-up involving an engineer's missing boyfriend, and, of course, much bigger existential issues facing humanity. Allison Pill, playing the tech company's deputy, goes toe to toe with Offerman's Forest for the Creepiest Acting Award while Cailee Spaeny (also featured in Garland's Civil War) transforms into the young, male coding prodigy, Lyndon. A choice! This series is packed with big ideas and a Garland-y atmosphere that will suck you in — but I must confess that one of the main reasons to watch this is so you can fight about it with your friends. You're going to have strong feelings about it one way or another. Watch it on Hulu. Difficult People (2015–17) A whole decade before they took home the Best Leading Actor in a Musical Tony for Oh, Mary!, Cole Escola had a supporting but memorable role in Julie Klausner's comedy series, Difficult People. Some will remember it as that show about two deeply misanthropic, Jewish best friends (Klausner and Billy Eichner) living in New York. Others will remember it as the only show in history to feature Seth Meyers jerking off Eichner, and a cameo by Kathie Lee Gifford, in a single episode. Both are correct. Depending on your tolerance for unlikable protagonists, you might find this particular humor and worldview grating. But, regardless, I think you have to respect a show that delivers on its title — and for those raised on Seinfeld and Curb reruns, this should go down it on Hulu. Everything's Gonna Be Okay (2020–21) Featured in our roundup of shows that actually reflect what it's like to be queer today, this one-season, follow-up series from Josh Thomas (Please Like Me) is a breath of fresh air. Thomas is Nicholas, a neurotic, gay twentysomething who has just learned that his terminally ill father would like him to be the guardian to his two teenage half-sisters, one of which is on the autism spectrum. The rest of the series follows Nicholas as he builds the plane while flying it, so to speak. As Matthew Huff notes in our original guide, it's unusual to see a queer character — particularly of this age — represented as a "leader" or "provider." But that is exactly what we see here, with Nicholas doing his very best to keep some order in the family. Like Please Like Me, Thomas pulls off the impressive alchemy of mining life's darkest moments for "comfort watch" fodder. Watch it on Hulu. High Fidelity (2020) We almost had a Da'Vine Joy Randolph-centered Season 2 of High Fidelity and Holdovers fans know better than anyone that that's a big "L" for the culture. One of the most contested TV cancellations in recent memory was this gender-flipped TV adaptation of the classic film and book, which found its audience just a little too late. Zoë Kravitz reminded us all how underutilized she was in Big Little Lies while playing the dynamic, Brooklyn record store owner, "Rob" (Robyn), at its center. Here's to hoping we right these wrongs by nominating Kravitz for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in The it on Hulu. Top of the Lake (2013–17) So, you're having a hard time letting go of Handmaid's Tale? Tap into this eery cinematic universe from the mind of Jane Campion, also starring Elisabeth Moss. It's hard to believe that Top of the Lake, a two-season limited series starring Nicole Kidman and conceived of by one of our greatest filmmakers, needs any signal boosting at all — but here were are in the age of Peak TV. Your mileage may vary on China Girl, the follow-up season that critics largely regarded as disappointing and hollowed out, but its first season is a stone-cold masterpiece. In this atmospheric, New Zealand-set story, Moss plays Robin Griffin, a detective whose own story begins to come into focus as she investigates the pregnancy of a 12 year-old girl. Watch it on Hulu. Say Nothing (2024) "Urgent" is a word that can get overused in reviews of political thrillers of this nature — but with so many eery parallels to what we're seeing play out in Gaza today, it feels apt to describe Say Nothing this way. The FX limited series adapted from the Patrick Radden Keefe book of the same name is actually about The Troubles, specifically the abduction of a mother of 10 from her Belfast apartment in the '70s. But its examination of violence and radicalism ring true today. It will be interesting to see how Say Nothing fares on Emmy nomination morning. Despite receiving rave reviews, and what seemed to be promising interest and viewership at the time of its release, chatter around has seemingly died down in the months since. Could this be the result of its binge-drop rollout? Or the result of so many shows being dumped in the last month of Emmys eligibility? Who knows! But whatever happens, this is a series absolutely worth your it on Hulu. Vida (2018–20) If you've made it this far, you've probably recognized a pattern. A lot of the shows that have flown under the radar have centered characters that typically exist on the margins of society. That is certainly true for Vida, the GLAAD-winning Starz comedy that was canceled after three seasons. In it, two estranged Mexican-American sisters Emma (Mishel Prada) and Lyn (Melissa Barrera) return to their old East LA neighborhood to bury their mother and in the process uncover a handful of paradigm-shifting secrets. Including, of course, the revelation that their mother quietly married a woman. Interesting, especially considering she rejected Emma's own queer identity. The authentic storytelling and lived-in characters, which critics rallied behind during its run, can be largely attributed to its all-Latinx writer's room and almost entirely female crew. Watch it on Hulu. Stream all of these movies on Hulu.
The Guardian
15-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I've always felt a little neurospicy. But it's my factory setting!' Natasha Rothwell on taking The White Lotus by storm
Natasha Rothwell pops up on video from the US looking super-glamorous in a silvery-grey dress, with her hair and makeup on point. Did we miss a memo about a dress code for our interview? 'I've just come from an event and thought, even though you're not filming this, you could at least admire,' she laughs. 'You know what they say: share the hair and never waste a face.' Rothwell is currently stealing the show as spa manager Belinda in season three of HBO hit The White Lotus – reprising her role from season one, for which she was Emmy-nominated. Having endured the whims of Jennifer Coolidge's needy heiress in Hawaii, Belinda has now travelled to the titular resort in Thailand to take part in its wellness training programme. She's 'cosplaying as a guest', as Rothwell puts it – and in the process both finding romance and uncovering a potential crime. The 44-year-old was born in Kansas but spent her childhood moving around the US due to her father's job in the air force. She studied theatre at university, before becoming a high school drama teacher in the Bronx, while appearing in comedy clubs by night. Her first professional gig in showbiz was as a writer on Saturday Night Live. She found on-screen fame in Issa Rae's hit comedy Insecure on HBO; Rothwell was originally hired as a story editor but her script readings in the writers' room inspired Rae to cast her as Kelli Prenny, who became a breakout heroine. Last year, Rothwell created her own Hulu sitcom, How To Die Alone, about a lonely airport employee who has never been in love. Resplendent in her finery, Rothwell discusses The White Lotus, her daily Donald Trump protests and recent ADHD diagnosis. 'Kop khun ka', as they say in Koh Samui. Was it always the plan to come back for The White Lotus season three or did it come out of the blue?It definitely wasn't the plan. It was pitched as a limited series. I put the character away, thanked her and watched season two as a fan like everyone else. When Mike [White, the show's creator] reached out about returning for season three, I was beside myself. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity that I got twice. How was filming in Thailand?Beautiful but too hot. It teaches you a bit of Buddhism: want is the root of all suffering. I tried to stop wanting it to be cold and it did help. I just gave into the environment. Resisting it every day for five months was not going to be fun. Lisa from K-pop band Blackpink plays health mentor Mook. Were lots of Lisa fans hanging around?She is huge but also wonderfully ordinary. Kind, relatable and approachable. I even met her mum. She's just the sweetest – then you see people peeking in, like 'is that her? Scream!' I can't imagine that kind of mega-wattage celebrity. I'm quite the hermit myself, so to see someone handle it with such aplomb was cool. She's so young but so savvy. In episode one, Belinda is so pleasantly surprised to see a black couple in the hotel restaurant that she gives them a little wave. Have you had moments like that in your own life?I actually pitched that to Mike. I told him that when you see other people of colour travelling – particularly if they're moving in spaces that are quite homogenous – you want to let them know that you see them. It's something subtle that happens. I remember being in Ireland, at a castle on some misty moor, and a black family came out of the fog. I was wide-eyed. I didn't know them from Adam but I just walked over and hugged them. I was so grateful that Mike added that part in. In the first season, was it a struggle not to laugh while shooting scenes with Jennifer Coolidge?She's so deeply funny, it's incredible. I cut my teeth in improv and sketch comedy, so fancy myself as pretty unflappable. But the moment where I'm singing a hymn to her and she sings it back, that wasn't in the script. I remember biting the inside of my cheek, thinking 'Don't break, don't break'. Apparently she's keen for her villainous ex, Greg, to get his comeuppance and messaged you saying 'Go get him, girl'?(Laughs) She's been texting me throughout the series. Jen is so supportive and such a character. Audiences miss her, so I'm a surrogate, keeping the flame alive. We're midway through the series. What's in store for Belinda over the next four episodes?Expect the unexpected. That's kind of a piss-poor answer but I can't say much. You'll see sides of Belinda that emerge when she's confronted with fear. Stay tuned. You had a stint in the UK shooting Wonka, in which you played plumber Piper Benz, and are a self-confessed anglophile. What is it that you like about it here?Believe it or not, I even love the shitty weather. It's sunny all the time in LA. I don't trust a person who's always happy. You need inclement weather to appreciate the sunshine. London is like New York with an accent. It's walkable, the theatre is incredible, you can drink a pint on the street and no one looks twice. I got addicted to Gogglebox and Love Island. I even got a Love Island water bottle for Christmas. The Office is one of my all-time favourites. I was a David Brent purist and only watched the BBC original. When the US version came out, I refused to watch it at first. Was Insecure a gamechanger for you?Without question. Hands down, it changed my life. I had no idea the show would be that big, let alone that I'd become an actor on it, as well as a writer. Insecure unlocked something. It showed me that black female comedy could succeed. Young, plus-size actresses who are brown still come up and say 'Kelli Prenny is on my wall!' For me, that inspiration was Nell Carter on [80s sitcom] Gimme A Break! That's why representation is so important. It allows us to dream bigger. You used to teach at a high school in the Bronx. Tell us about that.I loved teaching theatre so much. My older sister has been in elementary education for over 25 years so I definitely 'phoned a friend' a time or two. I always had the call to teach. Now I have several young writers and actors in LA that I mentor. It's important to send the elevator back down. Besides, after teaching teenagers, nothing can scare you. Was it hard to get over the disappointment of How To Die Alone not being renewed for a second series?You have to accept sometimes that things are unjust or unfair. This was a huge reminder of that. You can create a critically acclaimed, award-winning show that gets great numbers and it still not be enough. I've had to remind myself to be proud of what I put into the world and the effect that it had on people. The industry is tricky right now. Post-strike Hollywood is operating from a place of fear and that's no way to make art. I hope to find it another home. My middle name is Faith, so I'm not going to have the funeral quite yet. Do you think comedy is underestimated? It rarely wins Oscars, for and I think it's much harder. Great comedians make incredible dramatists and I don't know if the opposite is true. George Saunders defined comedy as the truth told quickly. Comedians are fearless in their confrontation of the truth. That's why I'm so grateful for The White Lotus. It enables me to use my comedic training in a dramatic way. Comedy needs more respect. What projects are in the pipeline for you?A series about [internet personality] Reesa Teesa, who found viral fame after a TikTok post about how she was hoodwinked by her husband. It's my first role where I'm playing someone who's living. It's such a relatable story, set on the battlefield of love. Talk about resilience: she used her platform to tell everyone how she was taken advantage of, which was a radical act of vulnerability. It inspired me to have courage to be more vulnerable, so I hope the show can do the same. We admire your dedication to tweeting 'You are trash' at Donald Trump every day. How did that start?It's a necessity. I've been doing it since his first term. I went on hiatus during Biden's presidency but now I'm back. It's just a reminder that what's going on is not normal and to speak truth to power. It's a micro-resistance but it makes me feel better. I never planned it as a daily thing. I sent the first one and the next day was like: 'that motherfucker is still trash.' Until I get it out of my system and I feel everyone's chanting the same thing, I'm going to keep doing it. People ask if I have an AI bot that does it for me. No, I roll over in the morning and if that idiot comes to my mind, I tweet it. I love that people have tuned into something so simple. It's just a collective nod. We're all in agreement, so let's keep pushing. You were diagnosed with ADHD last year. Did things suddenly make sense for you?Massively. I've always felt a little neurospicy but have found ways to work with it and move through the world. Before diagnosis, I'd get frustrated at some of the symptoms. Understanding that it's just my factory setting has made me accept who I am in total. I consider the diagnosis a gift. I'm able to unmask some of my traits and let my freak flag fly. What makes you happy when you're not working?Did my therapist tell you to ask that? (Laughs) I'm actively pursuing a hobby that has nothing to do with my vocation. I love what I do so much that work/life balance can be tricky. But I'm trying to get into Lego, so let's see if it sticks. The White Lotus airs on Mondays on Sky Atlantic and is available on streaming service Now
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Spirit Awards: ‘How To Die Alone' Creator Natasha Rothwell Talks The Challenge Of Navigating 'Fairness' During 'A DEI Purge' And Celebrating Black Stories
Despite a recent cancellation for Hulu comedy series How To Die Alone, the celebrations will not stop for creator and actor Nathasa Rothwell. The series followed Mel (Rothwell) a Black, plus sized and perpetually broke JFK airport employee who's never been in love and forgotten how to dream, until an accidental death scare challenges her to ignite her passions. Earlier this month, Hulu terminated the series after one season. Rothwell, who won the Independent Spirit Award for ensemble cast in a new scripted series, spoke to Deadline ahead of the event on the Indie Spirits red carpet about the challenge of finding a new home for the series. 'Right now in Hollywood, there's a DEI purge of programs, positions and projects. And I feel it's unfortunate that How to Die Alone was not able to survive that. It was worthy by all merits. It was a critical success and we had the numbers and more importantly, we were centering marginalized voices. We had representation on the stage. And that representation is being honored tonight. So it's exciting to see the show get that recognition in spite of the circumstances.' More from Deadline Spirit Awards: 'The Penguin' Star Cristin Milioti Teases Potentially Working With 'The Batman' Star Zoë Kravtiz; "I Love Her. I Think We Could Really Get Into Some Real S-" 'The White Lotus' Season 3: Everything We Know About The Cast, Premiere Date & More 'The White Lotus' Season 3 Premiere Recap And Q&A: Natasha Rothwell Explains Why Belinda Is In Thailand & Teases "Tensions" To Come In addition to the Indie Spirit win, the show also received two nominations at the NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. Rothwell went on to talk about the importance of being Black and having resilience in the cutthroat industry. 'Nothing quite prepares you for these particular types of shenanigans than being a Black woman that walks through this world,' the writer-actor said. 'Fairness is not something that we're as familiar with in a lot of areas. So being disappointed, those are experiences that I've felt before, but none at this magnitude. I'm grateful for the Black love and support of people who've shown up and held me up in encouragement. It's just confidence in knowing that the work speaks for itself. And although its journey is not what I had anticipated, it exists and people can find it and the message will live on forever.' Rothwell's next project will see her team up with TikTok's Tareasa 'Reesa Teesa' who went viral for sharing her true story about the wild dissolution of her marriage in 50 part videos that ranged from five to 10 minutes. 'I have so much stuff in store. That's the other silver lining when you're in a writer's room and in production for a TV show, your bandwidth is narrowed. So for the time being, I am able to entertain a lot of other projects.' Best of Deadline 'The White Lotus' Season 3 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Arrive On Max? 'The White Lotus' Season 3: Everything We Know About The Cast, Premiere Date & More 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
