November 6, 2024 The Newspaper Serving LGBT Los Angeles

“One Mississippi’s” Second Season Cuts Deep

It might be easy to look at the current landscape of comedy – the gross-out humor of the ‘00s having made way for a type of cringe humor typified by Louis CK and, to a lesser extent, the Judd Apatow coven – and put Tig Notaro somewhere between CK himself and the rest of his disciples. But while, yes, CK is listed as an executive producer on Notaro’s show “One Mississippi,” which premiered as an Amazon original last year, his influence (thankfully) is neither seen nor heard. Mainly because he has taken a severe backseat on the show due to some issues that are addressed directly in this season of the show (one word: masturbation.) And also because, quite simply, Notaro is her own deal. She is, in fact, one of the few comics to emerge out of the last 10 years with her own voice, something that she doesn’t seem to owe to anyone or anything. Except, of course, her complex past experience, which is just what “One Mississippi” is about.

The first season of the show took place right after Notaro’s character (“Tig Bavaro”) fresh off a cancer-related double mastectomy procedure, had moved back to her hometown of Bay St. Lucille, Mississippi to care for her dying mother. Her incredibly WASP-y father in law Bill – whose father was Tig’s childhood abuser – is cut off from all emotion, and her brother Remy is trying to figure out his own mess of a life. Their mother shortly dies, and Tig is left to pick up the pieces.

Melodramatic? With a plot like that, it could have been. But it isn’t. Needless to say, “One Mississippi” is packed with trauma. The trauma of losing a parent, of surviving cancer, of growing up gay in the South, of surviving sexual abuse. Of surviving, period. And you would imagine that this would make it a much sadder, more hopeless show than it is. A kind of trauma spongecake. But at its best moments, at its most transcendent, “One Mississippi” doesn’t actually manage to be about anything. Notaro is as deadpan as it comes, and seems to be the only one in her world who is able to find the absurdity in all the melodrama that has been threatening to tear her family and her life apart for decades. She is very much in her own world throughout, and at certain moments – after being spurned at a Ferron concert in the first season and after finally kissing her longterm love interest in the second – she actually bursts into song. And the effect, though weighted down with pain, is magical. It’s as if to say, “yes, pain is here. But so is everything else.”

The second season of “One Mississippi” deals with the aftermath of Tig’s childhood abuse by her step-grandfather (Bill’s father) a man who had been molesting her from near-infancy into her teens. There is both this trauma to unpack (which Tig does on her hilarious radio show, which no one in Mississippi seems to understand) and the issue of how her family, including Bill and Remy, stood by silent. But “One Mississippi” is a comedy, and is not interested in huge blowouts, grudge matches, and blame being melodramatically placed upon others in moments of passion. Notaro is more interested in telling the story to get past it. It’s everyone else who, once having to face up to her trauma, unravels.

“One Mississippi” is almost the perfect show for the Trump era. Not because it does a great job of covering those subtle political changes in the South, or even showing what it means to be openly queer in the South, but because the show is structured – and in its best moments, acts as – therapy. Notaro’s view of the world is incredibly forgiving, and also incredibly anti-bullshit. Watching her deal with her issues and the issues the world has forced her to take on gives viewers a new way to think about pain, trauma, and plain everyday resilience. With “One Mississippi,” Notaro has given us a hero for our time.

Related Posts

MJ Rodriguez, 1st Openly Transgender Actress to Win Golden Globe

January 18, 2022

January 18, 2022

Michaela Jae “MJ” Rodriguez has made history by becoming the first openly transgender person to win a Golden Globe.  The...

Animal Shelter Donations In Honor Of Betty White

January 18, 2022

January 18, 2022

Animal shelter donations have increased exponentially in honor of late actress gay icon and animal lover Betty White. Over the...

Netflix Launches LGBTQ Podcast ‘The Gay Agenda’

January 6, 2022

January 6, 2022

Netflix has launched “The Gay Agenda,” a new podcast that will look at the lives of LGBTQ+ creatives at the...

Hollywood Star and Gay Icon Betty White Dies Aged 99

January 6, 2022

January 6, 2022

Hollywood Star and gay icon Betty White died peacefully in her Brentwood home in West LA  on December 31st.  She...

Team Trans* Walk-Out At Netflix Office In Hollywood

October 18, 2021

October 18, 2021

Netflix’s trans employee resource group is planning a Team Trans* employee walk-out on October 20th at the Netflix office located...

Sex and the City Star Willie Garson Dead At 57

September 28, 2021

September 28, 2021

Acclaimed actor and Los Angeles resident Willie Garson passed away on September 21 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer,...

GLAAD Responds To Historic Emmy Noms

July 26, 2021

July 26, 2021

GLAAD has responded to the historic Emmy nominations after it was announced that out trans actress MJ Rodriguez and out...

MJ Rodriguez Makes History As First Out Trans Woman Emmy Nominee

July 26, 2021

July 26, 2021

Actress Michaela Jaé, formerly known as  MJ Rodriguez, became the first out trans woman performer to be nominated in a...

“Gayest Episode Ever” An LGBTQ+ Podcast

June 29, 2021

June 29, 2021

Gayest Episode Ever is an LGBTQ+ podcast hosted by journalist Drew Mackie and screenwriter Glen Lakin. The podcast looks at...

Buzzfeed’s Docuseries “The Andrea Mares Project”

June 11, 2021

June 11, 2021

BuzzFeed’s As/Is presents “The Andrea Mares Project,” a docuseries that shadows Andrea Mares, a trans-feminine Latinx, as she embarks on...

2021 Pride Announces “Thrive With Pride” Theme

May 15, 2021

May 15, 2021

LA Pride has announced its 2021 pride theme this year called “Thrive With Pride”.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in...

Ellen DeGeneres Ending 18 Year Talk Show

May 13, 2021

May 13, 2021

After more than 3,000 episodes and 19 seasons it is confirmed that Ellen DeGeneres is ending her talk show The...

Ellen DeGeneres Under Fire For Admitting To Driving Under The Influence

April 30, 2021

April 30, 2021

Ellen DeGeneres is under fire for admitting to driving wife Portia DeRossi to the hospital while under the influence.  While...

Tina Turner Documentary Breaks Records

April 4, 2021

April 4, 2021

Singer, song writer and gay icon Tina Turner released a documentary on HBO Max as a farewell to her fans...

First Gay Teen Captain America Revealed By Marvel

March 28, 2021

March 28, 2021

Marvel Comics has revealed the first look at a new Captain America who happens to be a gay teen.  The...