Premiered: October 9, 2016

On: HBO

Starring: Issa Rae, Jay Ellis, Yvonne Orji, Lisa Joyce, Natasha Rothwell, Amanda Seales, Y’lan Noel, Wade Allain-Marcus, Catherine Curtin, Maya Erskine, Neil Brown Jr., Dominique Perry, Gail Bean, Heather Mazur, Sujata Day, Veronica Mannion, Mason McCulley, Kathreen Khavari, L. Scott Caldwell, David Hull, Langston Kerman & Ivan Shaw

Issa Rae brings the comedy from her YouTube show Awkward Black Girl to the television screen.

Issa (Rae) is celebrating her 29^th birthday and realizing that her life isn’t exactly where she wants it to be. She feels discriminated against in her job, though she loves helping kids. Her relationship with Lawrence (Jay Ellis) has hit a rut, but luckily her best friend Molly (Yvonne Orji) is by her side through it all.

Without being obvious, this show hits so many interesting topics. Racism, homophobia and sexism are among the topics discussed in the first few episodes. They’re all hit without being overly dramatic either – there’s fun comedy to it all.

While both Issa and Molly are problematic and self-destructive, their friendship is familiar and wonderful.

Final say: Takes a bit to get into, but the story becomes addicting. ★★★★☆