There are many, many reasons why I could urge you to watch Netflix's new dark comedy, Russian Doll. The obvious reason would be that it's really rather brilliant, equal parts funny and melancholy, a line walked by all the best comedies. After the final episode of my two-day binge, I resurfaced from the depths of my screen with the lasting impression that I want to give Charlie Bennett a hug, I think Natasha Lyonne is a wild-haired queen, and that when faced with stairs or a fire escape, fire escapes are by far the safer - and cooler - mode of exit.
But far more importantly, the release of the show feels like picking up a conversation that, in a post #metoo era, is a refreshing addition to an often negative and frankly, depressing, debate around women in Hollywood. Arguably integral to the success of the show, is that it was written and directed entirely by women.
The show is the brainchild of Natasha Lyonne, alongside comedy giants Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland, who between them wrote and directed the series, with help from playwrights Jocelyn Bioh and Jamie Babbit. Lyonne, who also plays the show's protagonist, Nadia Vulvokov, had worked with Poehler previously, and the show was born out of discussions they had with Headland almost a year and a half before they even broached the idea of actually bringing their ideas to life. Apparently that they had a solely female team was purely coincidence; a happy coincidence at that. It was an accident that we can all definitely be grateful for.
The show is a riotous celebration of women, of their strength, and their weaknesses, of their flaws and resilience, of their wonderful and terrible decision making. The female characters defy shoe-boxing or typecasting, they are gloriously messy subversions of stereotypes. Nadia Vulvokov is both compassionate and selfish, Dascha Polanco's character Beatrice, is given much more depth and pathos than just the unfaithful fiancee. There are lesbians and straight women, slim women and curvy women, women from diverse ethnic backgrounds, women who are shown to enjoy sex without being prostitutes or 'loose'.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, real, human women!
It feels very pertinent, and hardly coincidental, that an all-woman team could write such women into existence. They haven't just sparked a tinder under the wooden moulds that female characters often get poured into, they've set alight to the whole damn production line that churns out these tired stereotypes.
This generosity of backstory, and realistic moral grey area isn't merely gifted to the women alone. The male characters also are neither good nor evil. Critics have argued that aside from Charlie Bennett's inspired portrayal of tortured soul Alan Zaveri, male characters have taken a backseat, sidelined to love interests with nefarious intentions. I'm not sure I think this is a particularly fair assessment, as there are plenty of male characters that aren't merely empty vessels that are there to support the development of the women.
But if I were to buy into this opinion, my response would be: so? Is this not the role that women have been written into for countless years prior? It is true that there are less men in larger roles, but it feels like a deliberate move to subvert traditional TV shows and movies in which men loom large, dominating the screen. It is to the writing team's credit that they didn't feel they were happy with creating some half-formed male caricatures, and instead used the opportunity to show that you can have complex male and female characters, that can co-exist onscreen together simultaneously.
This isn't the first time that an all female force has been responsible for producing a TV show. Amazon's show I Love Dick and BET's Hit The Floor also boast exclusively women writing teams. This celebration of women's excellence from every different platform - acting, writing and directing - is as welcome as first rainfall in a drought. So get your umbrella out, and invest in a good pair of wellington boots, because I predict, and I hope, that this inclement weather won't let up for a while.
Russian Doll is available to watch on Netflix now.
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