‘Difficult People’ Returns with a Vengeance

Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner return as TV's bitchiest dynamic duo for the third season of Hulu's underrated Difficult People.

Oh, how I've missed Julie and Billy cutting everyone they pass on the street. Whether they are pulling around large, inflatable protest rats in order to scatter lines they don't want to wait in or shutting down another live musical for television, this pair is the funniest duo currently on television. In a time where you need to laugh more than anything, Hulu's Difficult People reminds us that we can roll our eyes with aplomb and not feel bad about it.

You either love these two or you think they are rude and horrible. While the first two seasons mainly depended on the chemistry of stars Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner to enrich the laughs, this third season allows them to spend some time apart in larger scenes. Normally, when a show does this, you feel the absence of that spark and the show suffers, but it only enhances the bond between Klausner and Eichner.

The aftermath of the election looms large in this season, but People also battles the topic of censorship and the right to protest in the first three episodes. For those who hated Amazon's Woody Allen turd Crisis in Six Scenes (AKA me), look no further than the episode where Julie joins a Women Against Woody Allen group and then inexplicably gets cast in his latest television project. It's absolute bliss.

Since Trump's inexplicable election victory, it was inevitable for scripted television sitcoms to eventually send his presence up, and People doesn't hold back. Within the first three episodes there are small jabs taken at the current healthcare climate in this country to knockouts with references to Mike Pence's gay conversion therapy. If we are going to have characters take this bozo down piece by piece, Julie and Billy are our most scathing allies.

It takes about an episode to get into the full rhythm of the show again. The material in the first episode feels fleshed out, but the energy is off a tad. This is a tiny quibble–any show that has a sophomore season as strong as People's is going to pale in comparison–and a small price to pay. There's plenty to look forward to this season with Vanessa Williams showing up as Cole Escola's ex-wife (yeah, you read that correctly), and Billy gets a dreamy love interest in John Cho.

I welcome these two back with open arms. But everyone else needs to get the fuck out of my way.