A Black Lady Sketch Show

Honestly not every sketch lands it's mark with me, but I am not a black woman from the US of A so i must be missing some references, same thing for my spouse. Everything else is often funny enough to compare with the world offer for international sketch shows of the last 20 years (UK, Canada, ect). Honestly it makes me chuckle around the house and the intro puts a lasting smile on my face.

I almost really love this show, except a few too many sketches need to be edited. The plots just go on too long to maintain the humor. For example, the bar with the dances being stolen and the restaurant, the plot just continues and continues ostensibly to make them into a full fledged story with a beginning, middle, and end, but if it were just tidied up and ended sooner, the sketches would be spot on. Saturday Night Live does this well, just ending a scene after the jokes are made:

That said, I do actually laugh out loud and this show could be a 9 with some editing, trimming the script, and focus on delivering the laughs without providing a full, layered narrative.

Like any sketch show, you may not be entertained by all the skits. I find it smart and witty. My kind of humor. Kudos.

The performances of Robin Thede and Gabrielle Dennis in S2- Episode 5, weren't just entertaining but impressive.

As a Black lady, I'm extremely glad this show exists because, from the performers to the writers to the crew, there's so much talent. But to be honest with y'all... the writing is still weak. I am excited for the rest of season 2 and I'll keep watching because the cast is so strong, but the writing for sure needs work.

Some sketches are straight-up confusing (for the baby shower one in season 2, it took me forever to understand who was related to who), the subplot about the apocalypse is so drawn-out that it's hard to care about, the pacing of some sketches fizzle out almost immediately, and some sketches rely SO heavily on tired stereotypes that I forget we're in 2021.

I do love the general premise of most of the sketches though, and Robin is such a comedic force. There is so much potential in this show, and I think the show could benefit from taking a wittier, more subtle approach instead of being so heavy-handed.