Golden Globe-nominee Issa Rae combines acting, writing, and producing talents alongside co-creator/co-writer Larry Wilmore and co-director Debbie Allen in this first season of the HBO series based on Rae's web comedy Awkward Black Girl. A 29-year-old youth project organizer, Issa (Rae) maintains a balance with her “business” face/work demeanor and her colorful (language!) bougie snark while off-the-clock, enjoying a tight relationship with her lawyer best friend Molly (Yvonne Orji) and a rocky situation with her live-in of five years, the well-meaning but unemployed techie hopeful Lawrence (Jay Ellis), among other memorable peripheral characters. The cutting edge hip-hop/trip-rock/fresh soundtrack combined with a variety of Los Angeles-area locales—chicken and waffles are eaten at Roscoe's off Pico, Issa's Inglewood apartment complex has friendly gang members chilling out front, the kids from her youth project “We Got Y'all” excitedly visit the Santa Monica beach—add to the ambiance. But the main appeal is Issa, a funny, smart, and super-flawed character who spends a lot of time insecurely cheering/rapping/berating herself in the mirror, offering a look into her psyche that makes viewers really feel for the gal, even when she screws up. Compiling all eight episodes (each one ending with “as F**k, as in “Broken as F**k”) from the 2016 debut season, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes. Recommended. (J. Williams-Wood)
Insecure: The Complete First Season
HBO, 226 min., TV-MA, DVD: $24.98, Blu-ray: $34.98 May 15, 2017
Insecure: The Complete First Season
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