Dollface season 2 review: Kat Dennings’ Hulu comedy returns when we needed it

The pandemic can be handled in as many ways as possible. There are many TV series that deal with the pandemic. Some series Put the issue front and centre: Grey’s Anatomy And This is UsWe rushed into the meeting with the same melodramatic enthusiasm, SuperstoreThe front-line was manned by its world-weary employees from the big-box-stores. Others completely punted the question of the pandemic either because it wouldn’t fit with the already specific world of the show (Riverdale can’t put on a musical in quarantine, c’mon) or because they were able to slip in a quick line explaining the pandemic was already over.

So it’s no surprise that Hulu’s Dollface — like It’s as Simple As That, Mr. MayorPlease see the following: It is possible to before it — quickly leaps to the other side of the pandemic in the newly released season 2. Jules (Kat Dennings), who successfully reconnected to her college friends after an affair made it clear that she was leaving them for a man. DollfaceShows that are socially conscious thrive on the support of a supportive community. The four of them are finally reunited after some Zoom calls and lockdown, as the best friend kicks off the new season.

Dollface can’t keep pace with the now of omicron, which is to be expected. No matter how much they focussed on the pandemic storylines, shows have always felt somewhat out of tune with the changing realities of COVID-19. They couldn’t keep pace with the memes or the day-to-day choices we have to make around regular hangs, let alone the new variants and pressing grief that came with coronavirus. There’s always some sense of TV shows reflecting back an alternate reality from the one we’re in. It’s weird to watch the second season of Jordan Weiss’ series deal with plots around planning European vacations or going to bars without a mask, but then again, when it filmed in the summer of 2021, such things felt not only possible, but almost normal.

Photo: Jessica Brooks/Hulu

Like everyone else coming into the next phase of the pandemic, Jules and the gang are reassessing where they’re at in life and what feels like a worthwhile step to self-actualizing. Of course, there’s the insecurity that comes with that next step — whether it’s Brenda Strong’s Madison being unexpectedly laid off from her high-powered job, navigating a new professional level (Shay Mitchell’s Stella), or Izzie (Esther Povitsky) and the boyfriend she worries is out of her league.

Even though the whole of their lives feel a little strange in a post vax world, it feels more real than ever. JustJules, Madison and their thirty-year-old selves are staring into the future and wondering what they can do to improve life. We all have to be squirrely improvement projectors because of the pandemic. Dollface It captures the joys and sorrows.

It can sometimes manifest as huge swings in our vision of what life should look like. But it’s also neatly summed up by Madison summoning her friends to clear their closets: “Our styles should start reflecting whatever new directions we want to go in in our lives. That and I just bought a bunch of new shit I need to make room for.”

Photo: Jessica Brooks/Hulu

Weiss and Thea are thus able to provide the following: DollfaceWriters manage to bring out the best of both the present and the fun of the future. It is less a matter of gritty friction to glide through the valleys and peaks. DollfaceThe power of friendship can overcome almost any obstacle. But it’s smart that the relationships are both integral to getting through the world and also something you have to work at.

Some of these storylines work better than others — season 2 of DollhouseThis sitcom is more like a regular sitcom than in its first season. Partly because of the romantic plotlines that are woven around the many friendships this season, the end result can sometimes seem a bit too easy. The magical realism Jules uses to filter the world around her makes the characters and show more natural.

For any glitches that may have occurred in the Dollface’s matrix, when it’s over it feels gone too soon. Nearly two years worth of virtual chats and improvements projects (home and self, craft and houseplant) it was refreshing to finally stop in the lovely, post-pandemic land of Dollface camaraderie. Finally, it seemed that there was a world after the pandemic to look forward too.

Both the summer and winter seasons DollfaceYou can now stream them all on Hulu.