Here’s The New Show You Should Watch Right Now (March 10-16)

Aidy Bryant stars in what might be a new hit show for Hulu.

The Weekly Highlight: “Shrill,” Season 1. Hulu debuted this new show on March 15.

Premise: Annie (Aidy Bryant), a 20-something woman living in Portland, Oregon, aspires to be a writer and find love but has to deal with constant frustrations because of her weight. Mean-spirited people tease her. Well-meaning but clueless people don’t know how to talk to her and awkwardly talk about her appearance. Through practice, though, Annie learns to love her body and believe in herself. (The show is a loose adaptation of Lindy West’s 2016 book of the same name.)

Sum up: A fun show that Bryant’s charisma ultimately carries. The script is often shaky, but she sells every line she has. As it’s rare for her to not be the focal point of a scene, this means most of the show at least rises to a pretty good level of quality.

Heads up: As mentioned, the scripts just aren’t stellar. Almost every character besides Annie makes little sense, oscillating between a personality grounded in reality and one that’s ridiculously wacky for the sake of an audience laugh. The script just has that widespread problem of the narrative relying on characters acting like idiots to create forced obstacles for the protagonist to stumble into. As such, the stories often feel unbelievable and hard to get lost in.

Will everyone be talking about this? I think so. Bryant certainly has some star power as a “Saturday Night Live” cast member. Hulu has put a substantial marketing effort behind the show, with the YouTube trailer alone reaching over 8 million views.

You can watch the trailer for “Shrill” below.

Read on for more recommendations and news from the week. And in the navigation bar above, you can choose specific recommendations for series streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Aidy Bryant in “Shrill” on Hulu.
Hulu
Aidy Bryant in “Shrill” on Hulu.

Here’s the trailer:

A Couple Of Streaming News Stories From This Week

1. As you’re probably well aware by now, multiple actresses got caught up in Operation Varsity Blues, an FBI investigation of alleged bribes and other cheating to get children into colleges the kids wouldn’t have gotten into otherwise. Notably, Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were charged and had to pay hefty bails. The Hallmark Channel has cut ties with Loughlin despite the popularity of her show “When Calls the Heart.” According to TMZ, Netflix will not bring Loughlin back for her role in “Fuller House,” which recently got renewed for a fifth and final season.

2. HBO signed Mike Judge to a new development deal. The creator of shows such as “Silicon Valley” and “King of the Hill” will develop more shows for the network in the near future.

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE