Issa Rae Issa real.

I binge watched Season 2 of HBO's series, Insecure. The wildly-popular series stars Issa Rae, who also writes for the show.

Everyone knows someone like Issa (pronounced ee-sah). She's smart, polite, well-rounded, and normal, until a situation calls for her Inglewood to come out. 

She is the friend that you hate to tell that someone wronged you. You already know she's going to go to bat (or get a bat) for you. The characters on Insecure, are out spoken and real as hell.  They frequently use  "b!tch and n___a" in their regular vernacular and often in tandem.  It's important to look passed the "real talk" to the enormous heart and soul emanating in their well-developed stories.

The show centers around Issa and her haphazard navigation of life. Friends, work and her relationships with her ex, the one she cheated on her ex with, her booty-call neighbor, and her occasional random hook up's. 

The show feels like happy hour gossip with girlfriends. Hey girl, did you order the glass of Moscato?!

Dear HBO,  We know you're still trying to reinvent the legendary show, SEX AND THE CITY. 

Anyone else notice that there are four strong, successful and beautiful women who anchor the show?  At times, honestly, I cared more about Molly than Issa, (reminiscent of Samantha versus Carrie). 
Let us not forget the network's last attempt, HBO's GIRLS. Lena Dunham also wrote and starred in her show which ended earlier this year. Just like GIRLS wasn't SEX AND THE CITY,  INSECURE is not GIRLS.  Dunham's characters existed in a New York City that was almost completely white. I say, almost, because well, remember when Shoshanna made out with the Puerto Rico doorman, or Hannah's one-episode black boyfriend from the record store? Dunham's characters' (Hannah, Shoshanna, Marnie, and Jessa) were fun and wild but to me completely unrealistic. Did Jessa even work? Shoshonna was always in school, Marnie became a singer--for a bit, and Hannah interned and freelanced while Adam finally became an actor.  Aside from Ray, none of her characters exhibited a real life work ethic. This is fine for the fantasy that entertainment offers, but all I am saying is that most Americans don't trot around New York for years on their parents and grandparents' financial donations. Or do they? And how do I get in on this?!

Issa works. Her job at a non-profit that offers study aid to minority students is a sizeable part of the show. Molly is a lawyer. Lawrence develops apps (ok, one app, Woot Woot! that didn't ever make it). Nevertheless, Insecure is a lot more REAL.  The L.A. setting helped put much needed comparison space between the other shows.  One similarity, however, is sex and lots of it. Is this a prerequisite to have a show on HBO!?  I suppose what's the point of being on cable if you can't go where regular TV still cannot.

I should've, but I didn't count the number of bare gyrating men's butts that appeared over the 8 episodes (um... there were at least 5). I'm not complaining, as those butts belong to Jay Ellis (Lawrence) and Sarunas J. Jackson (Dro). As a matter of fact, there's more of the male anatomy than...boobs. Oh my, Feminism, how you have grown?!!  Because, normally women are subjected to non-vital to the scene nudity, right?  So, three cheers for gender equality--or should I say two big man cheeks?! 

There is a lot of hooking up on the show (as was in Sex in the City and GIRLS too). I just think, given how real the characters appear, they could practice safer sex. Yes, I know it's make-believe,  but I'm a little disappointed that with the disproportionate amount of AIDS/HIV cases among African-Americans that Issa could have called better attention to the use of condoms.  In more of the sex scenes than not, the characters appear to have not used protection at all. I think it's misleading to an impressionable young audience to not include the dangers of unprotected sex. (Did I miss this is season one?)
Also, I did spot condoms in the men's bathroom when Neil Brown Jr.'s character is on the phone talking to Lawrence, but he doesn't grab any. Also, there's a gold condom wrapper on Molly's nightstand after one of her nights with ***SPOILER ALERT***** Dro.

Okay, excuse my prudishness and please WATCH this show. It's hilarious. And I can't get enough of Issa's mirror monologues and freestyles. I thought I was the only one who did that! Every one needs a friend like Issa in their life--even if she's on tv! 

(ps. Now to watch Season 1) What?!