Hi, how are you? Fine, I hope! Here at the Mercury we’ve been very giggly about the recent debut of Shrill on Hulu! It’s based on the book by Lindy West, who got her start at our sister paper, The Stranger in Seattle, but the show is based right here in Portland, stars the great Aidy Bryant, and is partially set in an alt-weekly newspaper office not terribly unlike the Mercury! SQUEEEEE! I KNOW, RIGHT?
Note that I said, “not terribly unlike,” because while there are certain similarities (actually just one), there are several dissimilarities. And with that introduction, I’ll now educate you on the differences between TV and real-life newspapering offices.
Most Noticeable Similarity: Shrill’s newspapering office is kind of nice, but also kind of looks like shit. Before filming, Shrill production designers visited the Mercury office to get the “overall vibe” of an alt-weekly newspaper, and pretty much nailed it. If you were to drop by our office for a visit (don’t), you’d probably say, “Oh, this place is not very disgusting.” But a closer look would reveal a half-eaten tuna fish sandwich, an egg-crusted fork that’s stuck to a desk, and the unmistakable mixing of smells from a mostly finished bottle of Johnny Walker Red and a used hockey uniform that’s been inexplicably sitting around for months. And that’s just MY office! So good work, Team Shrill.
