''Difficult People'' is an American

dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...

series created by

Julie Klausner Julie Klausner (born July 3, 1978) is an American writer, comedian, actress, and podcaster. She is best known for creating, writing, and starring in the Hulu sitcom '' Difficult People'' (2015–2017), which also starred comedian Billy Eichner. ...

. Klausner stars alongside

Billy Eichner Billy Eichner (; born September 18, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is the star, executive producer, and creator of Funny Or Die's ''Billy on the Street'', a comedy game show that aired on truTV. The show ea ...

as two struggling and jaded

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audienc ...

s living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

; the duo seemingly hate everyone but each other. The series premiered August 5, 2015 on

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

, and was renewed for two additional seasons. In Australia ''Difficult People'' premiered 3 August 2020 on

SBS Viceland SBS Viceland (stylised as SBS VICELAND) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). It began as SBS TWO on 1 June 2009, and was branded as SBS 2 between 2013 and 2016. On 8 April 2017, SBS ...

and the SBS On Demand streaming service.

Cast and characters

Main

as Julie Kessler, an aspiring comedian. *

as Billy Epstein, Julie's best friend and fellow aspiring comedian. *

James Urbaniak James Christian Urbaniak (born September 17, 1963) is an American character actor. He is best known for his roles as Simon Grim in three Hal Hartley films: '' Henry Fool'' (1997), '' Fay Grim'' (2006) and '' Ned Rifle'' (2014), Robert Crumb in ...

as Arthur Tack, Julie's boyfriend. *

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

as Marilyn Kessler, Julie's mother. *

Cole Escola Cole Escola (born November 25, 1986) is an American comedian, actor, and singer. They are best known for their cabaret work and their appearances on the television series '' Jeffery & Cole Casserole'' (2009–2010), '' Difficult People'' (2015� ...

as Matthew Ellis Ross (season 2–3, recurring season 1), Billy's co-worker, whom he despises. *

Shakina Nayfack Shakina Nayfack (born December 8, 1980) is an American actress and transgender activist. She is most notable for her series regular role as Lola, a "trans-truther", on the second and third seasons of the Hulu television program ''Difficult People' ...

as Lola (season 3, recurring season 2), a co-worker at the cafe where Billy works

Recurring

Derrick Baskin Derrick Baskin (born November 10, 1975) is an actor best known for his role of "Comfort Counselor" Mitch Mahoney in the popular Broadway show ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee''. Baskin also played the role of "Jetsam" in the Broadway ...

and

Gabourey Sidibe Gabourey Sidibe ( ; born May 6, 1983) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the 2009 film '' Precious'', a role that earned her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, in addition to nominations for the Golden Globe an ...

as Nate and Denise, married co-owners of the cafe where Billy works *

Tracee Chimo Tracee Chimo Pallero is an American stage, television and film actress who became an arts critic favorite after her 2012 breakout role as Daphna Feygenbaum, the antagonist in Joshua Harmon’s hit dark comedy ''Bad Jews''. In 2018 she married C ...

as Gaby, Arthur's boss at a PBS station * Fred Armisen as Garry Epstein, Billy's brother *

Jackie Hoffman Jacqueline Laura Hoffman (born November 29, 1960 in Queens, New York City) is an American actress, singer, and comedian known for her one-woman shows of Jewish-themed original songs and monologues. She is a veteran of Chicago's famed The Second ...

as Rucchel Epstein, Garry's wife *

John Cho John Cho (born Cho Yo-Han; June 16, 1972) is an American actor known for his roles as Harold Lee in the '' Harold & Kumar'' films, and Hikaru Sulu in the ''Star Trek'' rebooted film series. Early in his career, Cho also starred in the Asian A ...

as Todd, Billy's boyfriend *

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has sta ...

as Veronica Ford, Marilyn's publisher *

William Bogert William Bogert (January 24, 1936 – January 12, 2020) was an American character actor best known for his roles as Brandon Brindle on the TV series ''Small Wonder (TV series), Small Wonder'' from 1985 to 1989, Kent Wallace, the host of ''Chappell ...

as Elmer, Matthew's fiancé * Shannon DeVido as Andrea Mumford

Guest

Nate Corddry Nathan Harris Corddry (born September 8, 1977) is an American actor and comedian best known for his roles as Adam Branch on ''Harry's Law'' and for his role as Gabriel in the first two seasons of '' Mom''. He has also guest starred on series suc ...

as Brian Walsh, Julie's high school crush *

Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for her character work and celebrity impressions on the sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (2012–2022), of which she was a cas ...

as Abra Cadouglas, a recovering alcoholic turned magician *

John Benjamin Hickey John Benjamin Hickey (born June 25, 1963) is an American actor with a career in stage, film and television. He won the 2011 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Felix Turner in ''The Normal Heart'' ...

as Fred, a date of Billy's who turns out to be a "participator" *

Kathy Najimy Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Hope Floats'' (1 ...

as Carol Donato, a friend of Marilyn's *

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Most recently, she has appeared in both ''The Mandalorian'' (2019–2020) and '' The Book of Boba Fett'' (2022) as Peli Motto. She played Jerri Blank in the ...

as Rita, a salesperson at a sporting goods store; also as a New York City tour guide in a Season 3 episode *

Malina Weissman Malina Weissman (born March 12, 2003) is an American actress and model, best known for playing the roles of Violet Baudelaire in the Netflix series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', young April O'Neil in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' and y ...

as Renee Epstein, Billy's niece *

Ana Gasteyer Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's '' Suburgatory,'' TBS's ''People of Earth'', NBC's ...

as a woman with damaged eyebrows who Julie and Billy meet at a diner *

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

as Kiki, a mysterious woman and roommate/lover of Rita *

Seth Meyers Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to that, he was a cast member and head writer for NB ...

as a conman who hooks up with Billy *

Sandra Bernhard Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, singer, comedian and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. She is perhaps ...

as Lilith Feigenbaum *

John Mulaney John Edmund Mulaney (born August 26, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He first rose to prominence for his work as a writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 to 2013, where he contributed to numerous ...

as Cecil Jellford, a date of Billy's who turns out to be an "old-timey" * Nyle DiMarco as Doug, Billy's deaf date *

John Early John Early may refer to: *John Early (educator) (1814–1873), Irish-American Jesuit educator *John Early (politician) John Early (March 17, 1828 – September 2, 1877) was a Canadian American politician. Coming to Rockford, Illinois, to practic ...

as Mickey, Doug's interpreter *

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, ...

as Sarah Nussbaum *

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. She is known for playing Betty Rizzo in the film '' Grease'' (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series '' The West Wing'' ...

as Bonnie, Marilyn's sister *

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...

as Trish, Matthew's ex-wife *

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom '' The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...

as Kenny Jurgens *

Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four ...

as Lizzie McCormick, Julie's neighbour *

Victor Garber Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian-American actor and singer. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also ...

as John Passias, Billy's acting teacher *

John Turturro John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...

as Dusty, Marilyn's old flame *

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

as Vanessa *

Susan Lucci Susan Victoria Lucci (born December 23, 1946) is an American actress, television host, author and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama ''All My Children'' during that show's entire network run from 1970 ...

as Shelley Waxman *

Jessica Walter Jessica Walter (January 31, 1941 – March 24, 2021) was an American actress who appeared in over 170 film, stage and television productions. In film, she was best known for her role as a psychotic and obsessed fan of a local disc jockey in t ...

as Chuck's Mom * Jami Gertz as David's Wife *

Amy Poehler Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy tro ...

as Flute, the Doula and Healologist *

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV and/or th ...

as himself * Luann de Lesseps and

Sonja Morgan Sonja Morgan (née Tremont; born November 25, 1963) is an American television personality, socialite and philanthropist. She is best known for her long-running role as a main cast member on the reality television series ''The Real Housewives of Ne ...

as themselves *

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

as herself *

Kathie Lee Gifford Kathryn Lee Gifford ( née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show ''Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee''. Gifford is ...

as herself *

Tony Hale Anthony Russell Hale (born September 30, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role in the Fox comedy series '' Arrested Development'' as Buster Bluth. Hale played Gary Walsh on the HBO comedy ''Veep'' from 2012 until ...

as himself *

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, ...

as himself *

Joel McHale Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is best known for hosting '' The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015). He has performe ...

as Billy's trainer *

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half o ...

as himself *

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and '' In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animat ...

as himself * Kate Pierson as herself *

Maury Povich Maurice Richard Povich (born January 17, 1939) is an American retired television personality, best known for hosting the tabloid talk show '' Maury'' which aired from 1991 to 2022. Povich began his career as a radio reporter, initially at WWD ...

as himself * Marc Shaiman as himself *

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He ...

as himself *

Larry Wilmore Elister Larry WilmoreThe name Elister L. Wilmore is given at This matches the birth date and birthplace for "Larry Wilmore" at (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Corresp ...

as himself *

Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. (born March 8, 1945) is an American actor, musician, TV producer and businessman. He is best known as the drummer and one of three primary vocalists for the pop- rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and multiple reunion ...

as himself * Justin Vivian Bond * Sally Kellerman as Joan Gentile * Rachel Dratch *

Andy Cohen Andrew Joseph Cohen (born June 2, 1968) is an American radio and television talk show host, producer, and writer. Cohen is the host and executive producer of Bravo's late night talk show, '' Watch What Happens Live!'' He also has a pop culture ...

Mink Stole Nancy Paine Stoll (born August 25, 1947), known professionally as Mink Stole, is an American actress from Baltimore, Maryland. She began her career working for director John Waters, and has appeared in all of his feature films to date (a distinc ...

Danny Aiello Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. () (June 20, 1933 – December 12, 2019) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including '' The Godfather Part II'' (1974), '' The Front'' (1976), ''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984), ''Hide ...

Production

In May 2014, it was announced that

and

would star in a pilot for

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

, with Klausner penning the script and

Andrew Fleming Andrew Fleming is an American screenwriter, film director, television producer, television director, film producer, actor, and television writer. He directed and wrote or co-wrote the films '' Bad Dreams'', '' Threesome'', '' The Craft'', ''Dic ...

directing.

would executive produce under

Universal Cable Productions Universal Content Productions (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal. History Universal Cable Productions In July 2008, Universal Cable Productions was split off ...

, with Dave Becky also executive producing under his 3 Arts banner, and Michele Armor of Marobru also executive producing. That same month it was announced that Rachel Dratch,

, and

had all been cast in the series, with Martin portraying Klausner's mother. In November 2014,

had acquired the series, with a straight-to-series order. In March 2015,

and

were cast in recurring roles. In March 2017,

joined the cast of the series.

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

Season 2 (2016)

Season 3 (2017)

Reception

''Difficult People'' received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, gave the first season an 85% approval rating and an average rating of 8 out of 10, sampled from reviews from 20 critics. Seasons two and three both received a 100% from polled critics. The site's consensus reads, "''Difficult People'' makes the unlikable likable with mean-spirited, unhappy characters who still can't help but amuse." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the first season holds a rating of 76 out of 100, based on 12 critics' reviews, implying "generally favorable reviews". The series frequently leveled jokes about

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...

prior to public allegations against the actor.

References

External links

* *
Julie Klausner's Fight for Gender Equality Through Vagina Jokes
{{Hulu 2010s American black comedy television series 2015 American television series debuts 2017 American television series endings 2010s American LGBT-related comedy television series American comedy web series English-language television shows Hulu original programming Television duos Television series by Universal Content Productions Television series by 3 Arts Entertainment Television series by Paper Kite Productions Television shows set in New York City Television series about comedians

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guest

Production

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

Season 2 (2016)

Season 3 (2017)

Reception

See also

References

External links