When watching the first season of HBO’s huge hit series White Lotus* back in 2021, I remember thinking, “Natasha Rothwell is something special. I can’t wait to see her in a starring role.” Well, with How to Die Alone, the excellent new dark comedy series that premieres later this week on Hulu, the world gets the chance to see Rothwell (who also co-created and co-showran the series) take center stage with aplomb.
*Rothwell is also apparently set to appear on the upcoming third season of White Lotus, reprising her role as the series moves to a new resort in Thailand. So, another chance to see Rothwell work her magic.
How to Die Alone follows Mel (Rothwell), who drives those transport carts at LaGuardia Airport, as she tries to decide if she wants to go to the Hawaiian wedding of her manager, Alex (a lovely Jocko Sims), with whom she had a brief relationship – and who she dumped because she couldn’t believe someone as good looking and kind as him could be interested in someone like her – and who she is still a bit in love with. Despite working at an airport, Mel has never flown on a plane thanks to a debilitating fear of flying. Plus, she’s broke and Hawaii isn’t exactly a cheap travel destination. But when her gay best friend Rory (a really great Conrad Ricamora) – who works at the Hudson News because he won’t get his trust fund payments if he doesn’t have an actual job – suggests they My Best Friend’s Wedding the wedding (as in they go to the wedding together and break up the couple – even though in the film our would-be wedding ruiner Jules decides at the last minute to stop trying to break them up and let them be), Mel makes a choice to stop living in fear and move forward with their plan. Naturally, it doesn’t go as expected in more ways than one.
But that central conceit – will Mel make it to Hawaii and let Alex know how she really feels about him – isn’t what the series is really about. No, this is a series that is much more concerned with how someone can find the strength to break out of a rut, to figure out that they are truly an exceptional human being (even when people or situations in their life keep trying to break them down and teach them the opposite), and how one can navigate the balance of self-love and self-assurance with the realities of just how hard it can be to move through all of those negative voices and come out the other side. And this series and the story it’s telling works, in large part, thanks to the vibrant and layered performance of Rothwell at the center.
Mel could easily turn into a caricature. Or devolve into a sad-sack who mopes and can only see the negatives in her life. Or respond to adversity by being too cheery. But she never does, and that’s thanks to Rothwell taking the time to build this character from the inside out. She’s a sympathetic character, even when she’s making choices that have you yelling at the screen in shock and disappointment. She has you rooting for her, despite her missteps and choices that you know are going to come back to bite her in the end (and boy, some of them really do). And when other characters talk about how wonderful she is – even if she can’t see what they see in her – we also recognize those traits in her and get where they are coming from. You can see why people in the series respond so strongly to her. You can see why Alex wanted to be with her. And you can see just why she couldn’t understand his reaction to her, as well. It’s a complicated character, but Rothwell has her down pat and makes us see who she truly is – warts and all – as well as how she views herself (and why).
The other great thing about the series is that the supporting cast is top-notch. Ricamora gets to do an awful lot with not a ton of screen time with Rory – who is Mel’s best friend, but who is also worried about getting pulled down by her depression spirals along with her and knows he needs to start finding healthier ways to help her cope, and to maybe distance himself as well. KeiLynn Durrel Jones is Terrence, a baggage handler with a heart of gold – and a massive crush on Mel, which she, naturally, has no idea about. You can’t help but root for Terrence to confess his feelings to Mel, even though you know Mel’s definitely not in a stable enough place to really react in the best way at the moment. And, as for Alex, well, you see why Mel loves him. And you see why Mel also thought she was completely out of his league – you get to meet Mel’s family in a memorable episode, so you get a look at where the low self-esteem started.
Mel is, for the most part, surrounded by good people (and one hilarious foil in Michelle McLeod’s Patty). She has a great work support system. And if she could only learn to trust them and herself, she’d be on her way to something great. But, then again, that’s the real point of the series: Can Mel believe in herself and get out of her rut and become who she could be? It’s a question that makes for a really funny, surprisingly deep series that shows off just how incredible Rothwell is. It’s well worth your time.
How to Die Alone premieres on September 13 on Hulu. All eight episodes were provided for review.
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