Netflix has been dropping some gems recently, from shows like Adolescence taking over the internet to K-dramas like When Life Gives You Tangerines, but for the most part, it’s really serious stuff that’ll get you existential or downright depressed, yet this week we get the return of one of its best rom-com series, and it might even be as good as the first season. Survival Of The Thickest is a TV show about a black plus-size stylist named Mavis. Her big dream is to make inclusive fashion more accessible to sisters like herself and to minorities who often don’t get the love they deserve. Mavis is also 38 years old (well, 39 now, but you know) and just out of an engagement that she got into because of external pressure in the first place. So, finally, at the end of the first season, Mavis puts herself first and decides to fly to Italy, where her ex-boyfriend Luca lives and sent her a ticket for. Season 2 picks up right at the end of season 1, where a surprised Luca answers the door to Mavis. Will they end up together? What does season 2 really focus on? And will Mavis finally become a big-shot stylist like she dreams of? Let’s find out in Survival Of The Thickest.
The beginning of season 2 focuses more on Mavis’ love life and her heartbreak. Despite going all the way to Italy, the situation isn’t really easy for Luca and Mavis, so she has to make her way back to New York. But do you know what heartbreak means? More creative juices and loads more excitement in the business side of things. Mavis begins to focus on what she needs (while still having fun, of course), and with her friends Khalil and Marley, she’s going to kill it.
What makes this show so incredibly fun isn’t how great the comedy is or how lovely it is to see a plus-sized woman getting it on; it’s actually just how nuanced the show is at bringing us everything about these characters as if they were having their conversations in our own living rooms (or bedroom, wherever you’re watching, we aren’t judging). What I mean is that the details are so real, it’ll just make you feel like that friendship comes through to you. For example, there’s a conversation the trio are having at Marley’s when Khalil brings up the movie Gravity, and instead of letting that go by, Mavis remarks that it’s a good movie. I know this sounds a bit stupid, but Mavis’ reaction made me feel a little bit seen, almost as if that’s exactly how I’d react in such a situation.
However, there is one big qualm I do have about the show, and it is how easy and fun it makes Mavis’ job look. I honestly wish it were that easy to go viral or get yourself seen in the saturated fashion industry. Of course, Mavis is one in a million, and her vision is different from most people; she sees what’s needed. This is not to say that Mavis doesn’t have problems at work. She definitely does, and those conflicts make the show more worthwhile because they feel real and relatable. So maybe I’m saying there should’ve been more of that (jokes on me, I guess).
Survival Of The Thickest season 2 doesn’t just focus on Mavis’ work travails, though. It also gives us a lot more of Marley and Khalil. For Marley, she finds a new woman she really likes who is a councilwoman. It’s an exciting romance that poses some challenges to the fabric of her being, but we see how she gets through it. However, this season gives a lot more focus to Khalil’s mental health in specific, and I want to talk about that for a moment. The idea of a Black man going to therapy is a refreshing one, one that breaks with a toxic culture of machismo. The show throws out misconceptions about it being weak for men (specifically Black ones) to seek help and to talk about their feelings. I’ve always loved Khalil as a character, and I especially enjoy his dynamic with Mavis, because mates—let’s face it, men and women can actually be good friends! So, this just makes him even more lovable and just one of the best Black best friend TV characters, who isn’t the butt of all jokes nor the one troubling everybody.
I felt this way about season 1, too, but I think I felt it more for season 2, the feeling of regret by the time the show was ending. With a TV show so bingeable at only 20 mins average per episode, it’s really hard not to want more. But Survival Of The Thickest isn’t just good TV; it’s great TV, with incredible humor, near-perfect imperfect characters (if you know what I mean), and a lot of romance and drama too. It’s the whole package all rolled up in 8 short episodes that you will be finished with in half a day. So I would recommend cherishing it and trying to watch it slowly to fully enjoy it for what it is.
For many, the chick flick is a guilty pleasure. It’s considered a “no-brainer” and something that you wouldn’t necessarily talk about with other people…well, men specifically. But this show is a reminder that those days are past us, and we should all be talking about it and all of our “guilty pleasures” because they’re what make for good TV. Yes, I do think Survival Of The Thickest is even better the second time around, and I urge you to drop everything and get to watching this amazing show. Also, yes, it is much better than Emily In Paris. I said what I said. I’d give season 2 four out of five stars.
