I have been a major fan of Issa Rae for several years now, dating back to when she had a popular YouTube series called Awkward Black Girl. The success from that parlayed into her developing a half-hour program on HBO called Insecure, which is currently in its third season.
Insecure, from the very beginning, was something truly special to watch. I knew it was going to be, based on what a unique talent Issa is, and the show has kept me glued ever since its premiere in 2016.
The show focuses on Issa’s character of the same name and her life in Los Angeles. In its first season, Insecure revolves around her long-term relationship with a guy named Lawrence (Jay Ellis), who she wants to leave as she’s grown tired of them being together. On top of that, she works at an organization called We Got Y’All, which is designed to be a peer empowerment program of sorts. Issa primarily hates everyone that she works with, except for Frieda (Lisa Joyce), who is the colleague that tags along with her when they visit some of the local schools. She has her opinions on Frieda, who comes off as awkwardly ignorant about a lot of race issues going on currently, but Issa still gets along with her for the sake of her job.
Then there’s Issa’s best friend Molly, played by Yvonne Orji. Keep in mind that the title of this show resonates in every single one of the characters as they try to navigate their own life. Molly is a high-powered lawyer, who excels at her job but fails in the world of love. Her goals are to meet someone who is as successful as her but runs into some troubles when she starts to hang with a guy named Jered (Langston Kerman), who is a manager at a local Enterprise Rent-A-Car. She likes him but can’t get over where he is in life career wise and that causes problems between them when she finally gets accepted to a dating app designed for well-off people. She starts to date the other men from these apps and uses Jered as a side piece of sorts until things come to a head between these two.
Issa, Lawrence and Molly are the primary focuses on the first season. The unintentional thorn in Issa’s relationship with Lawrence is a college friend by the name of Daniel (Y’Lan Noel), who is a booming music producer. The show finds Issa rapping a lot by herself, or in a certain “dream” state when she’s in a tough situation (her coworkers, problems with Lawrence, etc) so she sort of sees Daniel as a bit of a career opportunity as well as a physical one.
You are also introduced to Issa and Molly’s best friends from college who aren’t exactly shown in the best light in season one. Kelli, played by Natasha Rothwell, is the friend who is always cracking jokes but really isn’t there for any of them when it comes to the serious stuff. Tiffany (Amanda Seales), has done really well in her life alongside her husband, which causes her to have an air of arrogance to her character which is quite off-putting. They have their very blunt opinions on Issa and Molly but pale in comparison to how close those two are.
Issa and Molly’s friendship gets tested in a major way during the season one finale when they both confront each other about how they are really feeling about one another. I don’t want to give too much away, but the finale ends in a major emotional breakdown for Issa as she hysterically cries on a broken-down couch outside her apartment. This is due to what she has done in her relationship with Lawrence and her messing around with Daniel that leads to this pivotal moment in the series. The 8 episodes that was season one of this show were truly magnificent and is something I could watch over and over again.
Insecure is one of the best programs on television because it’s able to blend the serious with the funny, while also touching on a lot of topics going on in the world. Racism in the work place, and the ignorance that goes along with it, play a big part in season one. There are also conversations over items like if a man is gay if they let another guy perform oral sex on them once in their life compared to how women can do it but still be called straight at the end of the day.
Overall, this is a show that is worth seeing if you haven’t yet. Kudos to Issa and co for developing such an innovative series that the masses need to watch for more reasons than one.
Insecure airs Sunday nights on HBO.
This was created by one of our Contributing Writers and does not reflect the opinion of Instinct Magazine or the other Contributing Writers when it comes to this subject.