Such Brave Girls (TV Program)

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    ‘Such Brave Girls’ Is an Audacious and Hilarious British Comedy

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    For fans of “Peep Show” and Sharon Horgan, this warped series about a dysfunctional family is in some ways a satire of the trauma comedy.The blistering British comedy “Such Brave Girls,” on Hulu, centers on a dysfunctional family and features many of the archetypes one sees in a sadcom. But instead of slow poignancy and personal growth, “Brave” is all about feral, filthy awfulness. It’s hilarious and electrified, perfectly deranged.Kat Sadler created and stars in the show as Josie, the suicidal, closeted-but-also-not older sister whose biggest turn-on is being fawned over for how damaged she is. Billie (Lizzie Davidson, Sadler’s real-life sister) is the boy-crazy — craaaaazy — golden child who sexts during her abortion. Josie and Billie always seem to get what the other wants: Josie has no use for the doting, useless man who pledges his love to her, whereas Billie would give anything to have her dirtbag show her a molecule of loyalty. Josie can barely interact with women she crushes on while Billie is unfazed by a brief fling with her doppelgänger and romantic rival. Their mom, Deb (Louise Brealey), openly loathes Josie when she isn’t too busy fawning over her weird widower boyfriend, Dev (Paul Bazely). Family!The show is not for the prudish. But the vulgarity is part of the fun, part of the show’s amped-up id. The characters here do and say cartoonishly monstrous things, especially about sex and intimacy, but there is truth inside their savagery. The desperation to be loved and understood can indeed outpace reason, so while the behaviors here are outlandish, they’re not nonsense. The naughtiness is rich and coherent.In some ways, “Brave” is a satire of the trauma comedy, and it uses similar beats and moments but does so in festive, warped ways. A doomed family camping trip goes, of course, poorly, and a tiff leads to Deb kicking a tree and screaming: “We! Do! Not! Need! Catharsis!” The sisters gas each other up but with some of the worst advice imaginable, and the self-actualization moments come out tangled and grotesque.The raunch and audacity remind me of “Peep Show” and of the Sharon Horgan comedy “Pulling.” And “Brave” shares with “Fleabag” that “Oh dang, this show is really going for it!” dazzle. To its huge credit, “Brave” tenaciously resists sweetness, and yet its fallen world and all of its ostensibly unlikable characters add up to something pretty easy to love.Both six-episode seasons are available now. More

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      ‘Too Much,’ Plus 7 Things on TV this Week

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      Lena Dunham’s new rom-com comes to Netflix, and two reality shows air.Between streaming and cable, there is a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that are airing or streaming this week, July 7- 13. Details and times are subject to change.Fresh starts.For many millennial women, despite the fact that the finale of “Girls” aired in 2017, it’s never been too far out of the cultural zeitgeist. But now there will be fresh characters, plots and content to analyze with Lena Dunham’s new show, “Too Much.” The story follows Jessica (Megan Stalter), who, fresh off a breakup, moves to London for a new job and ends up falling for Felix (Will Sharpe), an indie musician who has seemingly countless red flags (I am having Adam flashbacks). The story is loosely based on Dunham’s real life — after working in Britain and meeting her now-husband, Luis Felber, there, she said she wanted to examine American expats’ fantasy of London versus the actual experience. All 10 episodes will be released at once. Streaming Thursday on Netflix.Kat Sadler, left, and Lizzie Davidson in “Such Brave Girls.”Courtesy of HuluThe real-life sisters Kat Sadler and Lizzie Davidson created a British sitcom in which they star as … sisters. The first season of “Such Brave Girls” tells the story of a mother, Deb (Louise Brealey), and her two daughters, Josie (Sadler) and Billie (Davidson), who navigate life after their father (Deb’s husband) leaves. In the second season, coming out this week, no topic is off limits — depression, medication, sex and affairs are all on the table. Streaming Monday on Hulu.Does he love me? Does he love me not?After a two-year hiatus, “Bachelor in Paradise” is back this week. The show features former contestants who head to a beach, this time in Costa Rica, for a second (or third, or fourth) chance at love. This season, the contestants from “The Golden Bachelor” franchise are also joining, but it’s unclear if there will be intergenerational dating. Jesse Palmer will serve as host, Wells Adams is returning as the bartender and for a new addition, the former “Bachelorette” Hannah Brown is taking on a role entitled “paradise relations,” in which she will help with rose ceremonies. Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Disney+, Amazon, Max, AMC+ and More in July

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      A “Jaws” documentary, “Sinners,” “Washington Black” and the low-budget “Monster Island” arrive, and “Foundation” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” return.Every month, streaming services add movies and TV shows to their libraries. Here are our picks for some of July’s most promising new titles. (Note: Streaming services occasionally change schedules without giving notice. For more recommendations on what to stream, sign up for our Watching newsletter here.)New to Amazon Prime Video‘Ballard’ Season 1Starts streaming: July 9A spinoff of a spinoff, this cop drama stars Maggie Q as Renée Ballard, a dogged Los Angeles police detective first introduced in Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch novels. Ballard made her TV debut in Season 3 of “Bosch: Legacy,” the follow-up to the popular crime series “Bosch.” In the new show, Ballard is assigned to lead a new team consisting mostly of volunteers and police department reserves, tasked to investigate some of the city’s oldest, coldest cases. As often happens in these situations, sometimes the trail of clues leads to some dangerous places, where the powerful people dwell. The detective has to rely on her wits and determination — along with some occasional help from the now-retired cop Bosch (Titus Welliver), who knows a lot about defying authority.Also arriving:July 2“Heads of State”July 11“One Night in Idaho: The College Murders”July 17“Surf Girls: International”July 21“Justice on Trial” Season 1July 23“Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War”Callum Woodhouse, left, and Dean Fujioka in “Monster Island.”ShudderNew to AMC+‘Monster Island’Starts streaming: July 25Though its title may conjure up images of Godzilla and King Kong, this gritty low-budget monster movie actually features a human-scaled nemesis: a ferocious fish-man known as the Orang Ikan, which resembles the title beastie from “Creature From the Black Lagoon.” Written and directed by Mike Wiluan, “Monster Island” is set during World War II, and has Callum Woodhouse playing a captured British soldier and Dean Fujioka playing a Japanese soldier. When the two are shipwrecked, they have to put aside their prejudices and work together to survive the predator that is stalking them both. Working with little funds and just a few locations — plus one nifty-looking creature costume — Wiluan delivers the kind of intense action and moments of gory horror that genre fans enjoy.Also arriving:July 4“The Luckiest Man in America”July 7“The Madame Blanc Mysteries” Season 4July 11“Push”July 17“The Furry Detectives: Unmasking a Monster”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More