Difficult People

Difficult People
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Julie Klausner
Starring	Julie Klausner Billy Eichner James Urbaniak Andrea Martin Cole Escola
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	18 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Tony Hernandez Amy Poehler Scott King Julie Klausner Dave Becky
Producer(s)	Ryan McCormick
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	22–30 minutes
Production company(s)	Paper Kite Productions 3 Arts Entertainment Jax Media Universal Cable Productions
Release
Original network	Hulu
Original release	August 5, 2015 (2015-08-05) – present
External links
Website

Difficult People is an American comedy series created by Julie Klausner. Klausner stars alongside Billy Eichner as two struggling and jaded comedians living in New York City; the duo seemingly hate everyone but each other. The series premiered on Hulu on August 5, 2015,^[1] and the second season premiered on July 12, 2016.^[2][3]

On October 17, 2016, Hulu renewed the series for a 10-episode third season to premiere in 2017.^[4]

Cast

Main

• Julie Klausner as Julie Kessler, an aspiring comedian.
• Billy Eichner as Billy Epstein, Julie's best friend and fellow aspiring comedian.
• James Urbaniak as Arthur Tack, Julie's boyfriend.
• Andrea Martin as Marilyn Kessler, Julie's mother.
• Cole Escola as Matthew (season 2-, recurring season 1), Billy's co-worker, whom he despises.

Recurring

• Derrick Baskin as Nate, co-owner with his wife Denise of the cafe where Billy works
• Gabourey Sidibe as Denise, co-owner with her husband Nate of the cafe where Billy works
• Shakina Nayfack as Lola, a co-worker at the cafe where Billy works
• Tracee Chimo as Gaby, Arthur's boss
• Fred Armisen as Garry Epstein, Billy's brother
• Jackie Hoffman as Rachel Epstein, Garry's wife

Guest stars

• Martin Short as himself
• Nate Corddry as Brian Walsh, Julie's high school crush
• Kate McKinnon as Abra Cadouglas, a former alcoholic turned magician
• John Benjamin Hickey as Fred, a date of Billy's who turns out to be a "participator"
• Maria Thayer as Nicole, a psychology student who Marilyn idolizes
• Kathy Najimy as Carol Donato, a friend of Marilyn's
• Amy Sedaris as Rita, a salesperson at a sporting goods store
• Malina Weissman as Renee Epstein
• Ana Gasteyer as a woman with damaged eyebrows who Julie and Billy meet at a diner
• Seth Meyers as a conman who hooks up with Billy
• Kathie Lee Gifford as herself
• Esther Povitsky as Cissy Donato, a millennial nuisance
• Debbie Harry as a mysterious woman
• Tina Fey as herself
• Sandra Bernhard as Lilith Feigenbaum
• John Mulaney as Cecil Jellford, a date of Billy's who turns out to be an old-timey
• Nathan Lane as himself
• Austin Pendleton as the director of a children's TV series
• Nyle DiMarco as Doug, Billy's deaf date
• John Early as Mickey, Doug's interpreter
• Lin-Manuel Miranda as himself^[5]
• Luann de Lesseps as herself
• Sonja Morgan as herself
• Kate Pierson as herself

Production

In May 2014, it was announced that Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner would star in a pilot for USA Network, with Klausner penning the script and Andrew Fleming directing. Amy Poehler would executive produce under Universal Cable Productions, with Dave Becky also executive producing under his 3 Arts banner, and Michele Armor of Marobru also executive producing.^[6] That same month it was announced that Rachel Dratch, Andrea Martin, James Urbaniak, and Tracee Chimo had all been cast in the series, with Martin portraying Klausner's mother.^[7] In November 2014, Hulu had acquired the series, with a straight-to-series order.^[8] In March 2015, Gabourey Sidibe and Cole Escola were cast in recurring roles.^[9]

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

Season 2 (2016)

Reception

Difficult People has received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, gave the first season an 85% approval rating and an average rating of 8 out of 10, sampled from reviews from 20 critics. The site's consensus reads, "Difficult People makes the unlikable likable with mean-spirited, unhappy characters who still can't help but amuse."^[10] On Metacritic, the first season holds a rating of 76 out of 100, based on 12 critics' reviews, implying "generally favorable reviews".^[11]

References

External links

• Official website
• Difficult People at the Internet Movie Database
• Difficult People on Facebook
• Difficult People on Twitter
• Difficult People on Instagram