Review: 'Shrill' Season Three Takes on New Challenges

Heading into its third season, "Shrill" is still comedically thriving in what feels like a 2010 world, which is a relief in 2021. At the show's center are two funny women Aidy Bryant and Lolly Adefope, who play best friends in their late 20s in Portland, Oregon. I would, honestly, love to watch another comedy about Annie and Fran, because there is a lot of rich comedy that can be mined out of a friendship like theirs.

On the surface, they don't seem to have much in common besides their body size, which is larger than average: Annie is a white female writer at a local alt-weekly, and Fran is a British-Nigerian lesbian hairdresser. In a satisfying way, each season has peeled back more of the surface of their relationship to let viewers know why their long-running relationship isn't as unusual as it may seem.

As two fat women, they already have a shorthand way to speak to each other about acts of aggression or rejection they deal with. They also are open about issues they each face, while still being able to maintain boundaries. Thankfully, the show portrays sexuality and intimacy in respectful and often hilarious ways for both women while avoiding full nudity. It is still, though, a bit too adult for kids. So, no, "Shrill" isn't the top search item for the phrase "Hulu lesbian shows," but it is decent representation and has been from the beginning.

Tied into the last season is these two friends trying out different life, relationship, and career goals. Some of the best setups are based on the fact that the amount of sheer confidence it takes to succeed at writing is also that same amount it takes to completely misunderstand a situation and tank that same budding career. While there are jokes that I hesitate to call fat jokes, the show isn't running away from focusing on fatphobia. Each actor who has served half a laugh or more during the first two seasons, like Jo Firestone, James Cameron Mitchell, Patti Harrison, or the incomparable Julia Sweeney come out to play in what doesn't feel much like a final season.

Season 3 of "Shrill" premieres Friday, May 7th on Hulu,