Successful releases such as 'Love' and 'Master of None' present a new protagonist model closer to the public's reality.
"I'm not attracted to you. I tried to make it work… But you have a very big head. And you're a nerd!" This is how sincerely her co-worker dismissed the romantic interest shown by Josh Greenberg, the protagonist of the series Man Seeking Woman. A ruthless confession that, however, is a perfect x-ray of the path that American alternative fiction has taken.
The cast is led by sensitive and innocent nerds, rejected time and time again, sharing a pessimistic view of relationships. Payment channels, whether online (Amazon, Netflix) or cable (HBO, FX), have recently released sitcoms that share similar axes such as Master of None, Love, You're the Worst (You're the Worst) or the aforementioned Man Seeking Woman. What is this course of millennial fiction due to? Do they realistically reflect today's society?
If we were to sequence the DNA of the new romantic comedy heartthrob, it would follow these coordinates. He is in his thirties, has a low-paying but steady job, is intelligent, and is a fan of comics, movies, and pop culture in general. She lives in a big city and desperately seeks to find the ultimate love, putting this objective before the occasional flirtations that may arise. They are sweet, sincere, and sociable. They are surrounded by friends, but their romantic longing makes them unhappy. They also live immersed in that stage in which you begin to collect invitations to weddings of acquaintances as if they were yogurt covers to get a wonderful submersible clock radio. And of course, you are in a hurry. The anxiety to have a life as perfect as expected clouds reason and multiplies failures. These errors are the triggers and motors of the plots of each episode.
The appearance of new content producers and distributors (Amazon, Netflix, Hulu) is key in the reproduction of this trend. Unconcerned by 'the lady of Cuenca', they are not constrained by an editorial line and enjoy almost complete freedom in terms of the themes and how to approach them. The usual pressure from advertisers not to associate their image with certain content has disappeared. The looming shadow of the sudden cancellation of the series, if certain audience data is not met, does not exist either, to the point that many are renewed for a second season even before seeing the light. Its mere presence or recognition among the experts is already sufficient reason for its issuance due to its implicit prestige.
Gus and Dev, the protagonists of Love and Master of None respectively, are played by two renowned American comedians (Paul Rust and Aziz Ansari). They are not only visible faces but also produce and write many of the episodes. They have been part of the project from the draft of the script to the final broadcast, leaving evidence of their influence when it comes to delivering a more personal, close, and earthly product. The resonance of their names has also prevailed when it comes to being able to star in comedies without having the expected physique of a conventional romantic leading man. In some generalist fiction, it would be difficult to see them outside the role of a funny friend of the protagonist. In others like Grey's Anatomy, they could not go beyond being the extra 'Interracial Patient 3' with poorly cured appendicitis.
Pop and geek culture is very present in the plots of these series. The thirtysomethings of Man Seeking Woman and You're the Worst constantly play the shooter Call of Duty and it's easy to find references to current series like Game of Thrones and Mr. Robot. Dev's friends (Master of None) go for Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock, in addition to spending much of an episode discussing and praising the making of Unfaithful (yes, Richard Gere's). For his part, Gus (Love) ends up breaking up with his previous relationship by throwing all the Blu-rays out of the car window, assuring that "Pixar movies aren't as cool as before."
But who are the parents of this generation? If we approach it chronologically, we must stop at the queen series, Friends. Ross Geller could be considered the first sitcom proto-nerd. A paleontologist doctor disastrous in love. Later, more examples would come, such as the computer scientists from The IT Crowd or Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Mother. The Big Bang Theory's Leonard and Howard are some of the other brainiacs with playboy aspirations who have accustomed audiences to a new fictional role. "Optimism disguised as cynicism, nice experiences that end up being anything but that, the desire for stability frustrated by the inability to make concrete decisions in life." These paradoxes represent the biggest differences between classic comedy and millennial comedy, according to Vulture.
Lena Dunham in Girls was a pioneer when it came to showing a more reliable and current side of the female gender to which iconic characters such as Carrie Bradshaw (S- and the City) had accustomed us. Her treatment of sentimental relationships, work, or nudity, managed to connect with the young audience. She defined herself as "the voice of a generation" in the first episode. Other productions followed her example later, such as Broad City or The Mindy Project. On the other hand, the most critical accuse these series of offering a false realism, too snobbish a portrait to be considered a "mirror" of a society. The protagonists live in large cities (Los Angeles, New York) and are engaged in artistic works: actors, novelists, screenwriters, etc. His circle of friends also enjoys a high standard of living, they eat in expensive restaurants and go to exclusive parties. There are no workers yet on HBO.
Judd Apatow is the constant equation in several of these fictions, giving Lena Dunham, Paul Rust, or Jay Baruchel their first opportunity, and producing Girls and Love. That both have been precursors of a new way of doing things is no coincidence. Apatow already left his mark on television with the series about teen misfits Freeks and Geeks, and later on the big screen. Virgin at 40, Supersalidos or Lío Embarazoso catapulted him to fame, and although virile and scatological, they hinted at a certain fragility at the bottom of his characters. What is already very noticeable is the change of roles between genders. If in these works the men were the unpredictable and sentimentally erratic party-goers, in Girls and Love it is the women who are the most unstable and reluctant to maintain a traditional relationship. Apatow's latest film, And Suddenly You, is another obvious example. Amy Schumer stars as a promiscuous and foul-mouthed journalist who resists dating a cute and funny doctor (Bill Hader) for fear of failure.
“It's a geek culture, they run the world. A geek can be any character. It's not like 30 years ago when I was the guy with glasses glued to the tape who would never get a girl," Apatow told El País. The producer defended himself in this way against the accusations that described him as macho and that the co-stars were always more attractive than them. Gillian Jacobs (Love), Minka Kelly, and Sarah Gadon (Man Seeking Woman) are some examples of a trend that has been taken to caricature in these same productions. The endearing Gus refuses to participate in a threesome with two attractive young women when they confess that they are sisters. In Master of None, Dev flirts with a fun, millionaire food critic who is dying to get him into bed, played by the gorgeous Claire Danes (Homeland). Although Dev would normally be thought of as the luckiest guy in the world, he ends up rejecting her when he finds out she's married. A new masculine sensibility in which S- is not as important as platonic love.
