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I try not to get too worked up over which TV shows get nominated or snubbed at the Emmys, but there’s one omission over the past few years that’s really made my blood boil. How in the world has HBO’s Somebody Somewhere, now in its third and final season, never cleaned up in the Best Comedy category? Adding insult to injury, this critically acclaimed show has never even been nominated. (Thank goodness it won a Peabody in 2024; otherwise, I’d really think I was going crazy.)
The answer likely lies in the show’s low profile. Somebody Somewhere is a slice-of-life comedy built on subtle heartbreaks and successes, starring actors who aren’t household names. (Although after this show, they should be.) Heck, I wouldn’t blame you if you hadn’t heard of it until now. But Somebody Somewhere‘s lack of flashiness or big name guest stars should in no way discount it from being considered one of the best comedies on TV. The emotional authenticity it has built over its first two seasons is nothing short of monumental — and it only gets better in Season 3.
What’s Somebody Somewhere Season 3 about?
Credit: Sandy Morris / HBO
Co-created by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, Somebody Somewhere‘s third season brings us right back to Manhattan, Kansas, where Sam (Bridget Everett, also an executive producer) is grappling with big changes to the community she’s built up over the past two seasons. Her newly divorced sister Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison) is in girlboss mode, selling her explicit novelty pillows, growing her event-planning business, and dating around. She and Sam are also renting out their parents’ old house to a kindly Icelandic man of few words, whom they just refer to as Iceland (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson).
Elsewhere, Sam’s friends are all coupled up. Her best friend Joel (Jeff Hiller) is moving in with his boyfriend Brad (Tim Bagley), while the incredibly named Fred Rococo (legendary drag king Murray Hill) faces pressure to correct some unhealthy lifestyle habits from his wife Susan (Jennifer Mudge). With everyone in her life making big changes, Sam feels more behind than ever before — especially when Susan implies that Sam brings people down.
Thankfully, as it does in its prior seasons, Somebody Somewhere Season 3 teases out a new path of emotional growth for Sam and those around her, one that strengthens her bonds to others and maybe even points to a love story down the line.
Somebody Somewhere Season 3 is all about GAAO: Growth Against All Odds.
Credit: Sandy Morris / HBO
Everett, Bos, and Thureen have spoken about how the theme for Somebody Somewhere Season 3 is “GAAO: Growth Against All Odds,” and while that especially applies to Sam, it’s true across the board. For example, Joel and Brad know they love each other, but now they have to get accustomed to living together, and all the small questions that come with it. Whose way of loading the dishwasher is best? Should they put pictures on the refrigerator? Do kitchen appliances belong on the counter? Sure, these may seem like inconsequential concerns, but Somebody Somewhere builds them out into larger questions of how Joel and Brad see themselves as a couple. Will these compromises — such as Joel going to Brad’s church and Bible study — chip away at their individual identities? Hiller and Bagley will break your heart and sew it back up in almost all their scenes, their openness making Joel and Brad into one of TV’s most compelling couples.
Speaking of great TV relationships, it’s remarkable to see just how far Tricia and Sam have come in the span of three seasons. From being at each other’s throats in Season 1 to supporting one another wholeheartedly in Season 3 — while still getting on each other’s nerves, of course — these are TV sisters for the ages. One scene in particular, where the two discuss their late sister Holly and their worries that they aren’t grieving correctly, is just one of many scenes this season that will get the tears flowing. (Special shout-outs are also in order for a soul-baring Thanksgiving dinner, and for a surprise musical performance from Brad and Sam.)
And of course, we can’t talk about Somebody Somewhere without highlighting the relationship at its heart, the friendship between Sam and Joel. These two have certainly been through a lot together, but in Season 3, they encounter a new challenge: distance. As Joel embarks on a new stage in his life and Sam feels stagnant in her own, how will the two find time for each other? Fret not, they certainly do, but the occasional missed call or lapse in communication between them is enough to induce heartache of the highest degree. The only cure is watching them work to keep their friendship alive, bolstered by the always-impeccable chemistry between Everett and Hiller. Seriously, one minute these two will have you sobbing your eyes out over discussions of botched dreams, and the next they’ll have you rolling with laughter, thanks to the show’s perfectly deployed potty humor.
That’s the essence of Somebody Somewhere in a nutshell, a show that takes all of life’s ups and downs in stride. In any other show, a big development like a successful business pitch, a disheartening trip to the doctor, or an encounter with a homophobic high school bully would cause a commotion and take up an entire episode. That’s not a bad thing in itself, but Somebody Somewhere simply plays by a different set of rules, taking these developments and weaving them quietly into these characters’ lives to inform their actions. It feels as true to life as TV can get, and it’s an absolute gift we’ve gotten to experience it.
Somebody Somewhere premieres Oct. 27 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max.
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“Somebody Somewhere” Season 3, starring Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller, premieres Oct. 27 on HBO and Max. Review.
