Rest in Rage, ‘Difficult People’

Joey Moser tries to come to terms with the cancellation of Hulu’s Difficult People. And fails.  

When I read on Tuesday night that Hulu cancelled Difficult People, I literally stopped walking. Yes, the news that one of my favorite comedies being taken off the air was enough for me to physically stop dead in my tracks and try to fathom why this happened. My heart is broken, and I’m sure Billy and Julie would tell me to get my shit together.

I knew Difficult People was something special in the first five minutes of the first episode. Billy and Julie go to see a revival of Annie and they are furious when they learn that the title character will be played by an understudy. “Understudy is a fancy word for disappointment,” Julie tells the offended mother of two sitting in front of them.

Unlike other comedies on television, Difficult People allowed its characters to wallow in hatred, jealousy, and anger. Everyone was to blame for Julie and Billy not becoming famous, yet they couldn’t fathom why they didn’t have a series or writing gig yet. When the show debuted in 2015, I likened them as an acidic Will & Grace. Now that the show is gone, I hate that I reduced this pairing to that description because one was a gay man and the other was a redheaded woman.

Of all of the television ensembles currently working, you would be hard pressed to find another group that goes for broke this hard. Andrea Martin (fucking Andrea Martin!) played one of the most selfish mothers on television (“What a colorful group of friends you choose to waste your time with,” is one of the gems from this last season) and even found time to spar with a book editor, played by Lucy Liu, over her horrendous memoir. Cole Escola is the queer second coming of Andy Kaufman. He’s brilliant. Fingers crossed that he can now star as Bernadette Peters in his own show.

We should be thankful that Julie Klausner created such a biting show. Yes, Julie and Billy were awful to strangers and family members alike, but they have a beautiful bond and would do anything for each other. Comedy is more important now than ever, and, in the third season, Difficult People went after Woody Allen and the Trump administration (that Mike Pence home conversion kit…) so brilliantly that you should expect some aggressive For Your Consideration pieces from me this Emmy season. Does it get any better than Julie and Billy going to Quizno’s for a sandwich and healthcare in this turbulent, terrifying political climate? Hulu should also prepare for my weekly rants for taking away weekly opportunities to see Billy Eichner and John Cho make out.

We got three brilliant seasons of Difficult People. Thank you to Julie Klausner for creating a comedy that allows us to be angry and openly difficult. I can’t properly articulate how much I love it. It’s truly something to behold. I could never fully describe its brilliance, so just do yourself a favor and watch it. And then hate yourself for not enjoying it while it was on the air.

I will miss the Kevin Spacey jokes now more than ever.