Learning personal value and self-appreciation in the face of social perception doesn’t always sound like the stuff of comedy. Nonetheless, Hulu is bringing together that blend of personal growth and laughter with its new series Shrill, and so far seems onto something quite appealing.
Annie is an overweight young woman with a burgeoning new career who is ready to change something in her life—but not her body. For Annie, played by Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live), she well knows how she is judged for her body size. But as she starts to recognize that she is as good as anyone else, she finds her own way to change things, whether it is dealing with her perfectionist boss and forging her own creative outlet, standing up to her not-so-great boyfriend, or balancing her relationship with her parents.
Shrill is inspired by Lindy West’s 2016 feminist memoir on body positivity, Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman, and was adapted by Bryant herself, along with West and Alexandra Rushfield. It is executive produced by Elizabeth Banks—who optioned West’s book in 2016—and Lorne Michaels.
While West’s original memoir inspired the basis for the series, the team adapted it into a fictional story, creating Annie and her life in part from scratch, as well as from both West’s and Bryant’s personal experiences. This personal element shows, as does the love the team had for the character, who was written as a full and real woman. She is surrounded by family and friends, has a job and relationships. Her story isn’t based on her struggles with diets to try and prove her worth, but rather how she finds her own self-value despite the way society can diminish people who don’t fit the right shape.
Bryant, who has received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for SNL, has also appeared as a guest on such comedies as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Portlandia, and Girls. The series also stars British comedian Lolly Adefope (Miracle Workers) as Annie’s best friend and roommate; Luka Jones (People of Earth) as Annie’s less-than-stellar boyfriend; John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) as her perfectionist boss; as well as Ian Owens (The Second City’s Unelectable You), and Julia Sweeney (The Goode Family). Series directors include Jesse Peretz (Girls, GLOW) and Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia, Casual).
Check out Hulu’s latest trailer for more:
All six episodes of the first season of Shrill will be available to stream on Hulu starting Friday, March 15.
How to watch Shrill on Hulu
Shrill one of a continually growing list of programs by Hulu Originals. As such, it will (at least initially) only be available on Hulu when the season debuts on February 8.
However, it is easy to sign up, and with the bevy of new programming, not to mention options for viewing other series from network TV, Hulu has a lot to offer.
For new subscribers, Hulu offers a free trial month, and then has several different monthly plans to choose from, including:
- $7.99/month with limited commercials
- $11.99/month commercial free
- $39.99/month commercial free + live TV of up to 50 channels, as well as on-demand feature. *
* Hulu live will increase to $44.99 beginning February 26, 2019.
Hulu can be watched through Hulu.com online, as well as apps for Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire, Xbox, and mobile devices. Interested in more information? Check out our review of hulu, which does a deep dive into all the aspects of Hulu’s subscription options, as well as the many add-on channels to increase usage.
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