Difficult People

Based on the five episodes screened, Difficult People isn’t interested in treading water this season, contributing to a richer, more empathetic experience that never also fails to find the funny.

There’s some incredible reference work happening here, the sort that challenges even the most savvy pop culture nerd, but the inclusion that comes with recognizing each mention proves super-rewarding.

They’re awful, but they’re the butt of the jokes, ruining the audition or bombing at comedy night. They may be difficult, but they’re also inherently likable.

In its first season, Difficult People distinguished itself with such fast-paced, snippy dialogue, but the show has become more than just a series of quick jokes. The writing has grown increasingly intricate.

Though undeniably hilarious at times, it is a difficult show to watch (see title).... [Julie and Billy's] friendship is powerful but limiting and destructive, their brilliance hampered by their refusal to acknowledge that the world is not their living room. Which, if Klausner doesn't lose her nerve, makes Difficult People an illuminating sendup of far too many things on television.

The hilarious Difficult People launches a second season of shockingly outrageous farce. [11-24 Jul 2016, p.17]

The series is thoroughly derivative and utterly parasitic on the most ephemeral, shallow aspects of the culture.