"The Other Two" Shines by Putting Molly Shannon in the Spotlight
Wednesday, September 1, 2021 at 12:35PM
Wouldn't you watch a Molly Shannon talk show?
Creators Chris Kelley and Sarah Schneider should “Pat… themselves on the back” for another great season of The Other Two. Season two roars back with a new vigor as it re-centers the show around the Dubek matriarch, Pat (Molly Shannon), and her newfound success as a talk show host.
Last season saw the Dubak family thrust into the spotlight once the youngest son, ChaseDreams (Case Walker) has a viral hit and becomes an overnight pop sensation. Now, Chase is off to NYU (but not Tisch, as the show hilariously notes) and Pat has become a talk show host that rivals Chase in terms of popularity.
As for the titular Other Two Dubek siblings, they are… doing all right. At the very least, they are in better positions than last year...
Everyone's favorite salty siblings are back in season two of "The Other Two" on HBO Max.Brooke (Heléne Yorke) now seriously wants to be a music manager. The only problem is that Chase has gone off to college so she needs to find the next big music sensation. The styling of her character is perfect this season. With hair slicked to one side, pounds of makeup and pepped up confidence, Brooke is a new sort of animal this season. Her main problem, how does one sift through all the TikTok kids to find a new global artist. This new career oriented Brooke gives Yorke even more room to shine. Not only does she amp up the physical comedy, but she gives her character real growth. Brooke feels like success, not necessarily fame, will be the thing that finally brings her happiness like her brother and Mom. Yet, her quest turns out to have more interesting turns.
Cary (Drew Tarver) sees his profile rise thanks to hosting gigs on a variety of Quibi-esque fake talk shows. Having a job, unfortunately, doesn’t exactly equate to more money. At least he finds himself in a relationship with a soft-spoken cutie, Jess (Gideon Glick). As a character, Jess feels underdeveloped and underplayed to the point of being sleepy. Yet, having a relationship allows us to see Cary in a different light. It also creates an interesting bit of tension between Cary and Brooke that becomes the mature center of this delightfully goofy show.
There are plenty of great guest stars this season. Noah Galvin and Tuc Watkins are hilarious as a gay son coming out to his Daddy on Pat’s show in episode two. There’s a fun twist that provides lots of laughs, as well as some strong emotional realizations for Cary about his relationship with his own Father. Even at its goofiest, The Other Two knows how to reel it back in and give its characters some pathos. We also get the return of Cameron Colby the notorious Instagay from season 1, played by Jimmy Fowlie. Rather than play the same note again, the writers and Fowlie have found a hilarious and surprising new twist to the purposefully basic and vapid character.
The Dubek clan is just as good as ever in season two of "The Other Two."
As the season goes on, the show potentially becomes too narrowcasted for its own good. It’s very nice to feel seen by a show and have your own sense of humor reflected back to you. As much as I laughed, I was often aware of how specifically the jokes were hitting me. It avoids falling into the pitfall of just being niche one-liners by finding surprisingly sweet or sad character beats to end on. A recurring audience member at Pat’s show at first feels like someone we’re laughing at, until the episode flips our expectations on our head and shows us how Pat was once as starstruck as this audience member. One hilarious episode mocks the trendy mega-church moment, only to later relate it to Cary’s own fraught experience growing up gay and going to church.
The Other Two is more than just a laugh riot, it's also a wonderful character study of a family caught up in the wild world of show business. A-
The first two episodes of The Other Two season two are currently available on HBO Max. Two episodes will be released every Thursday, with the finale airing on September 23rd.
Drew Tarver, HBO Max, Helene Yorke, Molly Shannon, Review, The Other Two
Reader Comments (3)
Saw the S2 premiere yesterday and I was in stitches for most of it. I can't wait to see the rest!
I think what I love most about this show is that there's a backbone of love at least when it comes to the 3 siblings and their mom. Without it, the show would be too goofy or even mean-spirited, but since that core is there, it never feels that way.
Episode 2 is pure gold, the "I'm his son, i'm straight and i'm from Kansas" joke made me laugh in a way i hadn't done in a long time and the fan at pat's show plot took me by surprise, i thought it'd be some annoying stuff, but ended up being so moving. Cannot wait for the rest of the season
this is truly one of the best shows on TV right now, everything about it is incredible, and Drew Tarver and Heléne Yorke are killing it, that scene at the end of episode 4 is Emmy material