SHRILL
Based on the book Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West, and created by Ali Rushfield, “Shrill” is an American comedy streaming television series starring Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live) as Annie, a fat young woman who wants to change her life — but not her body. Annie is trying to start her career while juggling bad boyfriends, a sick parent, and a perfectionist boss that first broadcast on March 15, 2019, on Hulu.
PREMISE:
Annie (co-creator Aidy Bryant), a writer for a weekly paper called The Thorn, had spent most of her life shrinking herself to fit society’s standards but is forced to confront her issues as she confronts an internet troll who had made it his business to bully her relentlessly about her weight. Echoing West’s real-life experience, Annie ends up finding and calling him out personally, a moment that’s shocking to him and exhilarating for her. With just six episodes, though, the first season doesn’t have much time to develop much beyond this specific thread — which was a shame, because as the excellent second season proved, there was plenty more to explore.
The latest and final season premiered on Friday, May 7, 2021, on Hulu.
Annie’s been promoted but finds herself reeling from a terrible argument with her low-key new boyfriend Will (Cameron Britton), a man she’d previously written off before realizing he could be good for her. Fran comes to meet her with a sympathy bottle of wine because she and Em also just had a huge fight about whether or not they should move in together.
Sitting together on a park bench, the last shot of “Shrill,” period, is of Annie and Fran blinking through frustrated tears into the horizon, contemplating the ways in which their lives are about to change if they commit to the kind of change that has previously scared them to death.
Where can I watch “Shrill”?
Exclusively available for streaming on Hulu (Free Trial), you can also watch the previous two seasons on Amazon Prime (Cancel Anytime).