CHRIS' QUARANTINE RECOMMENDATION OF THE DAY (4/30/20): THREE BUSY DEBRAS

CHRIS' QUARANTINE RECOMMENDATION OF THE DAY (4/30/20): 

THREE BUSY DEBRAS

By Chris La Vigna (@Chris_LaVigna)

From left: Mitra Jouhari, Sandy Honig, & Alyssa Stonoha. They're all Debras, and they're all very busy.

Today I'm gonna talk about a show that's been helping me stay sane during these weeks of being under lockdown, which is ironic considering how crazy it is. Today, I'm talking about the new "live-action cartoon" from Adult Swim,  THREE BUSY DEBRAS. 

THREE BUSY DEBRAS is a surreal sitcom about three housewives, all named Debra, who live in the picturesque suburban community of Lemoncurd, Connecticut. Their homes are all immaculately maintained, they dress all in white, and they just generally seem to be the perfect embodiments of their respective brands of chaotic energy.

Like any good upper-class suburbanites, they spend most of their days brunching and avoiding consequences for their actions, like when Jouhari-Debra and Stonoha-Debra kill Honig-Debra's pool boy by accidentally getting him sandwiched between the grills of their cars. Or when the three Debras deliberately destroy an ATM that has sprung from the ground because it makes all the lowly people who work for them too rich to want to bother. No matter how much madness the Debras get embroiled in, they always come out clean on the other side.

Shots from S1E03,  "SLEEPOVER!"

This is where the show gets its cartoonish energy from. It makes no bones about the fact that it follows its own nonsensical logic, with props floating in and out of shots just to serve a singular purpose and disappear. The show's three leads also do a great job of play their parts with the physicality of unhinged Looney Tunes characters; there isn't a single close up shot in this show that doesn't feature some subtle yet hilarious gesticulation.

The show was created by its three stars, and before it made its way to television, THREE BUSY DEBRAS started as a play that three comedians performed and honed over the years, which is something you can see in how strong their performances are, and how in spite of their apparent sameness, each character has their own nuance: Honig's Debra is the most proud and condescending, Stonha's Debra is the most frigid and WASP-y, while Jouhari's Debra is undoubtedly the most unhinged, and possibly the most emotionally sincere of the lot.

The show premiered in the thick of the lockdown, and I've been watching each episode premiere live every Sunday night as a way to unwind and get ready for the uncertainty of the week ahead. Each episode is only eleven minutes long, and the sixth and final episode of the season premieres this Sunday, so you can easily catch up on all the wacky hijinks to date and be ready to watch the finale. 

A Debra's work is never done

As bonkers as this show is, it's proven to be a comfort, so much so that I had a very vivid dream where I was on set, acting in an episode. If I recall correctly, I was playing one of the Debra's long lost sons, and all of the jokes centered around the fact that I am 1.) the same age as the three leads, if not a little older, and 2.) very evil, like I was supposed to be their show's version of a grown up Damien from THE OMEN or something. To quote the great comedian Judy Tenuta: "It could happen!"

So check out episodes one through five of THREE BUSY DEBRAS on Adult Swim's website, then be sure to tune into the finale this Sunday at 12:00 AM EST.