Laid

The Australians are some real sickos. How else do you explain this American adaptation of a darker-than-dark comedy like Laid? A show where people die and die and die and we’re meant to laugh at it. Which I suppose we do. But only because Stephanie Hsu is such an engaging and funny performer. Her unassuming nature, timing and energy all hold together a series that could otherwise feel dismissive and a bit evil about a bunch of dead dudes. And maybe, possibly sex shaming? Honestly, I’m not certain what the message here is supposed to be. Just death in the name of comedy.

Putting my prudishness aside, this is a relatively entertaining show. Which, again, is due in large part to Hsu and her comedic chops. The cosmic center of this cautionary tale. Which, once again, I’m not sure what we’re being cautioned against, other than you shouldn’t sleep with guys or they’ll die in the order with which you slept with them. I’m not really sure why. I mean I guess it’s some sort of thing to make Hsu’s character, Ruby, more cognizant of her flakiness in her relationships — especially the fact she barely bats an eye when these men she dated/slept with keep dying in horrible ways. Though, when you really think about it, she’s not the one suffering. It’s a really roundabout and costly way to teach someone a lesson. But I guess it’s a comedy, not a Nabokov novel.

So, with all her old flames dying one by one, Ruby sets out to figure out why. It’s a curse! Because that’s a thing that happens on TV shows. And then, somehow, one of her old boyfriends, Richie (Michael Angarano), gets skipped over. The curse spares him. No clue why, it just does. And, frankly, I don’t think we’re ever let in on why that happens, other than the fact Ruby now has another funny ally to help her untangle this mystery. Also in on the search — complete with a red-string murder board — is her best friend, AJ (Zosia Mamet). An oddball actress who has literally made a career out of being the main star’s oddball best friend. Hey, she’s good at it. And she has amazing eyebrows. AJ is obsessed with Amanda Knox. Again, not sure why, but she’s a weirdo. Anyway, these three spend the series trying to figure out why her exes are dying, while also battling Ruby’s narcissism and daddy issues. If you’ve seen a single-camera dark sitcom post-2015, you know the archetype.

Eventually the obvious happens and Ruby meets someone who she really wants to boink. But can’t because of the curse. She likes him enough — unlike most of the other seemingly disposable men in her life — that she doesn’t want to risk murdering him with her hooha. What to do. What to do. Well, she eventually figures out a way around the curse because nothing could hold that libido back! But there’s a twist! I can’t reveal what it is because this is pretty much Lost, but with laughs and sex, but no plane crashed or smoke monsters. And you wouldn’t want me spoiling that twist, would you? Anyhow, there will be a second season of this show. I’m not certain how that’s going to go, but the small main cast is pretty fun, and I’m assuming they have some sort of outline from the original series to follow. There aren’t that many adult sitcoms around these days — especially ones that do actually have some laughs. I’ll take it where I can get it.