TV Retrospective: "Russian Doll" - Season 1

Natasha Lyonne

There's a lot of pressure in releasing a show like Russian Doll a day before Groundhog Day. Considering that the holiday has received a certain reputation since the 1993 Bill Murray movie's release. Both center around the simple premise of having to relive the same day over and over (it's a fairly common plot, as both horror film Happy Death Day and the Marlon Wayans vehicle Naked also shared this premise) before breaking free. While this has become a somewhat obnoxiously present trope in pop culture, what separates the Netflix series from its competitors is that it's one of the few shows that doesn't stop when the character dies. No, there's more to the forced cycle than trying to right a moral compass. It's a world that is intertwined with gimmicks and concepts that may challenge one's sanity, but inevitably makes for a unique experience that challenges the tropes in meaningful ways. The show plays up its fantastical elements in all of the right ways and with a stoner sensibility manages to become one of the first truly enjoyable new series released by Netflix this year.

It starts with that familiar opening. Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) is at her birthday part staring into the bathroom mirror. She is contemplating something that isn't yet clear to the audience. One has to wonder what it all means, and why this one moment matters at all. It's the one she will return to before the episode ends. She doesn't return for its natural use, but more because her death draws her to this place, forcing her to figure something out as she exits the building and into the real world. Is she stuck in this loop because of "cocaine" she is being given, or maybe it's some selfishness from the party? The first episode is the most like Groundhog Day and the early run only play into the comedic nature of the premise that includes a montage of Nadia falling down a flight of stairs in several different ways. It's gallows humor, but it's also the frustration and anxiety of not knowing how to escape this torture on even a cautious level.

The genius comes in around the fourth episode when Alan (Charlie Barnett) appears. While the show has accustomed the audience to following Nadia's story, Alan too is stuck in a time loop that causes him to return to the start of his day. While Nadia's conflict is more selfish, Alan's is rooted in an emotional crisis in the works. His girlfriend is dumping him and he has no purpose. From here the mystery shifts not to how one person can morally escape this trap, but how they can strategically do it. They meet up at Nadia's party and slowly realize that the things that they thought were hurting them were actually providing signs. In a quest to reach out for others, they discover that the thing to get them through wasn't to stay up all night (they would just go about their lives until some accident happens), but to try and understand each other on a deeper level. It takes them to the park, finding a homeless man with a lot of secrets. They also find Nadia's cat Oatmeal, who if nothing else is really cute.

The show's greatest gift is Lyonne, who has done great work for years on Orange is the New Black. Here she provides an even more interesting and sarcastic portrayal of a New Yorker working out her anxiety on the streets, taking phone calls and coaxing her way through unpleasant conversations. She has rarely been this charming and her presence as the lead gives her a fully fleshed out character that is plenty funny but also has a deeply conflicted heart. Her struggles throughout the series feel real because of that fine line between going crazy and feeling hopeless. Given that she makes jokes about such obscure things as Jodorowsky's Dune, the show is likely to appeal to a certain type of cineaste. It helps that it's also beautifully show with cinematography that pops off the screen with bright colors clashing with excellent set designs. Lyonne owns the show and finds ways to make the struggle feel real, even as it goes down a rabbit hole of absurdity more and more.

Much like Maniac, the Netflix show brings something thought provoking to the digestible model of TV. The episodes are at 30 minutes at worst, and most of them breeze by thanks to a mystery that isn't as fun as the characters. To spend time wandering the streets with them allows a certain freedom. Even then, the brevity of episodes gives it more of a concrete feeling than the more bloated run of Netflix's Marvel shows. There's no room for fat on this bone, and the show is likely to reward patient viewers with eyes towards details. For everyone else, it unfortunately may entertain for a night but do little to leave an impression. It's weird in all of the right ways, but only those into genre series will think to look deeper or appreciate how it differs from Groundhog Day. It's a show that plays with perspective and timelines while adding a brilliant flair for comedy. It's hard to say because the show is so good at what it wants to be. How much you're tired of the "days repeating themselves" trope will determine how enthused you are by the show as a whole. Still, it has more heart and wit than a show like this should have, and that makes it stand out a tad more.

Russian Doll is a delightfully weird show that is among Netflix's best early outings. While the release schedule is only likely to get more crowded, the immediate buzz around the show promises that it will be talked about for awhile. Hopefully it will bring awareness to the comedic brilliance of Lyonne and prove that there's ways to do a story of alternate timelines without drawing too much attention to it. The show is weird and funny in an offbeat way, managing to put a lot of attention to details both bold and subtle. Its brevity is both a positive and a negative, as those merely watching it in quick succession to keep up will likely forget its craft before the end of the month. Those willing to dig deeper (provided there's even time with Netflix's exhausting business model) will find a show that is so much more than a knock-off. It has its heart in the right place and its brain working on another level to make the tropes feel brand new. It's a show that feels meaningful even as the plot around it spirals into madness.