Gretchen and Jimmy are despicable, terribly selfish people who want nothing but instant gratification. They are the two halves of You’re the Worst, a very unlikely American comedy.You’re the Worst isn’t being screened in India just yet, and needs to be downloaded through whatever means possible.
Jimmy (Chris Greere) is a bitter and condescending English novelist whose first book wasn’t much of a success, and who doesn’t believe in friends. Gretchen (Aya Cash) is the almost always inebriated or drugged publicist for a rap trio, and is perfectly happy not committing to anything. They meet at the wedding of Jimmy’s ex-girlfriend – which he is thrown out of, and from where she is stealing a present.
They hook up for a couple of weeks, and what follows is an erratic relationship between two people who believe there is nothing worse than growing up, and nothing more horrific than a happy ending. They resist everything that could lead them to accepting that they care about each other and clearly want to be with each other.
Jimmy and Gretchen come with an equally dysfunctional supporting cast. Lindsay is self-absorbed and manipulative, while Edward is a war veteran with a heart of gold and nightmares from the field.
The show turns the miserable lives of these four absurd adults into a tragicomedy, or what is being called a “SadCom.” Series creator and writer Stephen Falk is too audacious to succumb to clichés and staple plot twists like break ups, pregnancies and the career versus love debate. By making viewers root for a couple of very unlikeable self-consumed characters, You’re The worst has already challenged the notion that love looks, sounds, and feels a certain way. Jimmy and Gretchen are imperfect, and we know it. They know it. Their craziness and obsessions are spelt out loud and clear, right from the very start. And there is no judging them. For once, it is okay to be flawed, deeply, deeply flawed.
In its second season, the show takes a brave turn and goes in for serious character development instead of fabricating plot twists for the sake of another episode. By revealing that Gretchen is clinically depressed, You’re The Worst helps us understand what makes her reckless and emotionally unavailable. She isn’t just running from relationships, but is perpetually trying to escape her own mind.
While episode after episode finds Gretchen sneaking away in the middle of the night to cry in her car or dance to no music in a house full of people, the show is being lauded for truthfully depicting depression and mental illness. All the while maintaining its A-game when it comes to rude, ballsy and offensive humour. The show will make you tear up and laugh at the same time. Occasionally, you’ll have some unexpectedly profound life truths thrown at you, just when you aren’t looking.
