After much anticipation, Shrill—the Hulu comedy based on former Mercury contributor Lindy West’s hilarious bestseller of the same name—has arrived. And, surprising no one, it’s super funny. It’s also full of real-looking bodies and people of color. Actually, my first impression of the Portland-set Shrill was that it makes our city seem way more diverse than it actually is. But hey, it’s a comedy! It takes place in a world we want to live and laugh in, not the crappy one we have.
Written by West, Ali Rushfield, and Aidy Bryant, and produced by some of those responsible for Portlandia, Shrill’s color-blocked credit sequences and eccentric soundtrack seem like an obvious attempt to create a woman-focused, West Coast-set Master of None, but the show also wears Portlandia’s bright, airy aesthetic. (Again, it’s a selective Portland: I got dizzy trying to orient myself in the disjointed geography of all the recognizable Portland landmarks.)
