Everyone, drop what you’re doing right now and watch The Other Two.
The HBO Max comedy, created by former Saturday Night Live head writers Sarah Schneider and Chris Kelly, is a perfect storm of showbiz satire, family drama, and the best pop culture gags on TV. Now in its third season, The Other Two shows no signs of slowing down. Picking up three years after Season 2 left off, Season 3 takes the show’s characters — and its storytelling swings — to hilarious new heights.
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In Season 3 of The Other Two, the Dubeks have found success — but is it enough?
Credit: Greg Endries/HBO Max
A lot has happened in the three years since we last saw the Dubek family. Pat (Molly Shannon) has graduated from talk show host to an Oprah-like mogul with her own TV network, which features shows like Drape Disasters with Maria Menounos. Her youngest son, Chase Dreams (Case Walker), is a bonafide star whose music career has been put on the back burner. Chase is also busy with his own side ventures, like a nail polish line (how very Harry Styles of him), and navigating the challenges of reaching adulthood in the entertainment industry.
And how about our “other two,” Cary (Drew Tarver) and Brooke (Heléne Yorke)? No longer on the sidelines, these two are successful in their own right, Brooke as a talent manager and Cary as an actor. As the season opens, the whole family are supporting Cary at the premiere of his film Night Nurse, which we learn experienced “the most COVID delays of any movie.”
Season 3 of The Other Two is by no means “the COVID season,” but it does use its time jump to show how people’s priorities shifted during the height of the COVID pandemic. Characters like Lance (Josh Segarra) took the time to re-focus on “doing good” — something that stresses Brooke out as she wonders whether her career is meaningless.
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And she isn’t the only member of the Dubeks experiencing some angst. Pat’s new levels of fame mean she’s under constant surveillance for her own safety. Unable to experience any kind of normalcy, her and Streeter’s (Ken Marino) relationship begins to fray. Meanwhile, Cary struggles to find new roles and remain relevant as an actor. These conflicts result in some of The Other Two‘s most introspective moments yet, as well as some of its most outlandish storylines.
The Other Two goes bigger and better in Season 3.
Credit: Greg Endries/HBO Max
The Other Two has often played with genre before, but never to the level of what we see in Season 3. The entertainment industry becomes an even more surreal landscape, where elaborate spy capers and supernatural disappearances are the norm.
Season 3 also features a number of flawlessly executed parodies, sending up Pleasantville, Romeo + Juliet, and Love, Victor, just to name a few. One of the show’s best episodes so far even takes place almost entirely throughout an Angels in America-esque play. You wouldn’t think all these pieces would come together, but thanks to the magic of The Other Two and its killer cast, they do, giving us a Season 3 that is somehow better than its two already-exceptional predecessors.
The Other Two Season 3 hits HBO Max May 4, with new episodes streaming weekly.
