‘Somebody Somewhere’ returns for its final season

April 2020 to January 2022: This was the time when television did a soft relaunch of the “very special episode”, a type of plot that was abundant in the series of the 90s in which the writers felt obliged to add an important message from time to time. . Think about the episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in which Will and Carlton were arrested despite having done nothing illegal.

In some ways, it should have been expected that television series like “Small fires everywhere”then it would be increasing. After George FloydAfter the 2020 assassination, even corporate brands were falling over themselves. to demonstrate his diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. While programs like “Abbott Elementary” helped you get away from that pressure in 2021, real-life problems like the riot of january 6, anti-vaccines, abortion restrictions and climate change He still dominated many others, including “Station Eleven.”

This was a stark contrast to “Schitt’s Creek,” the cloyingly funny Canadian family comedy that, even after switching platforms for its last broadcast,attracted a loyal audience, largely because it was nice and relentlessly human. After it ended on April 7, 2020, no one could have anticipated that television plots would become as morose and angry as the world itself seemed in the years that followed.

As the 24-hour news cycle became more depressing, perhaps fewer predicted that another series would be able to step in and fill the void that “Schitt’s Creek” left for modest, feel-good television, because there was an oversaturation of terrible vibes. on the screen. which were often considered prestige.

But against all odds, on January 16, 2022, HBO’s “Somebody Somewhere” became that show.

It’s probably the sound of its characters’ giggles that gets stuck in your head long after an episode ends and the end credits roll on your screen. the almost incredibly cheerful group of fry friends who live in Manhattan, Kansas, experience some of the same ups and downs we all do (career disappointment, personal successes, heartbreak, partnership, and death) and always find a way to laugh at each of them.

Bridget Everett is the star of the show, as well as an executive producer whose real-life story inspired the premise. She, like her character, Sam, hails from a small town in Kansas and is a singer whose talent probably should have taken her much further than it has thus far. The actress has a slew of credits under her belt, including roles in the first “Sex and the City” movie in 2008 and “Inside Amy Schumer.”

The story of “Somebody Somewhere” begins when Sam returns to his hometown to help care for his sister, who is dying of cancer. (Everett’s real-life sister died in 2008.)

It begins with an uncomfortable and familiar experience: returning to your childhood home after years of absence, when your parents are older and slower; your married and successful sister is still the favorite; and now you will have to face all those you left behind in the big city with your tail between your legs. That can be humiliating. And knowing that their lives It continued well without you it doesn’t help.

Created by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, “Somebody Somewhere” has all the potential to be cynical, even sarcastic. Sam has that disposition naturally. She initially considers herself a failure and is a little mortified when someone from her old life instantly recognizes her.

Enter Joel (Jeff Hiller), a big-hearted Kansas native who welcomes Sam with open arms during choir practice. He’s a big fan of yours, you know? I could never forget that beautiful singing voice from high school. Against all of Sam’s preconceived notions, the two become best friends. And their affection for each other extends to others like college professor Fred (Murray Hill) and, slowly, Sam’s neurotic, store-owning sister, Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison).

Together and individually, they get into mischief. The time Joel found himself trapped in a tornado with a puppy he wasn’t sure he could take care of anymore, and who also needed to relieve himself at that moment (or “tee-tee or pah-pah,” as Joel puts it) ). says). The time Sam and Joel tracked down Tricia’s cheating, no-good husband to catch him, of course, they were up to no good.

Even in the most delicate moments, friends always find a way to make each other laugh, hence those giggles that always sound so genuine and easyas a necessary respite for both the characters and an audience still trapped in a depressing television landscape.

As comical as these situations sometimes seem, nothing that happens in “Somebody Somewhere” seems artificial. Rather, everything the characters experience is as inherently banal as one might anticipate given the rural setting (from divorce or marriage to a new job at the local pub), but it brings them one step closer to better understanding themselves. and to the others. Essentially, every moment is one of empathy, towards others and towards oneself.

His third and last seaon, premiering Sunday, encapsulates that as each character is challenged with notable changes. Evolving friendships, self-reflection, new life situations, and companionship are just a few of this year’s adjustments.

Unlike other HBO series like “Industry” and “real detective“, “Someone somewhere”, who cattle a Peabody Award in the spring, it was never the kind of show that generated a rush of social media posts as new episodes debuted. Morningr, it’s the kind of show that its most loyal viewers let invade them alone in their homes; Not for discussions about water coolers. It is a singular experience that, even now in its final bow, is difficult to describe, let alone chat about with others.

This is partly because the show is not conflict or message driven. Maybe for some that is detrimental to them. But there’s something bold and interesting about a series that doesn’t feel the need to show humanity to its audience. It’s just ingrained.

Still, we are in a television climate where audiences orWe often hope that Urgent Issues be at the center of every plot. As a result, they (like Sam at the beginning of “Somebody Somewhere”) can sometimes bring a sense of doom and projection to the most innocuous premises. We are all guilty of it.

For example, the fact that the show focuses on a group of queer characters too often meant, for some, that it is about queerness or making a statement about being queer. There are strange people here who just… live. What does it mean? What are you trying to tell us?

Another area of ​​interest, which has not generated much discussion, is that a key setting is found in the chorus. Fred, Joel and their partner, Brad (Tim Bagley), go to church and even experience crises of faith. But these are characters who attend church; they don’t feel like they were written or performed to represent the church or its values. They simply are.

(One could certainly argue that there is some opportunity to highlight the supposed contradictions of being devout and queer, although that is easily refutedor that the show’s avoidance of making a political statement is political in itself. But still.)

What makes the series especially great is that it allows life to just happen. It’s about finding humanity even when you’re not looking for it or when you’ve lost hope in it.

the lattThis is where “Somebody Somewhere” probably found much of its audience in 2022: at the intersection of rage and misery. That is where We also meet Sam. But over the course of three seasons, she finds her happy place and, to her own surprise and submission, hope. That’s an emotional blow that you may see coming but, particularly in the era of gloomy television,Shocking power grid.

Time and pop culture will move quickly in the wake of “Somebody Somewhere” and by then it might be easy to forget each character’s name or, more importantly, how the show made you feel. Because that feeling, like the series itself, is too fleeting.