5 things I need to see from ‘Insecure’ season 4
The season premiere of everybody's favorite millennial comedy-drama is at our fingertips -- let's hope these fan suggestions make the cut
Issa Rae took the entertainment world by storm with Insecure, a comedy series showcasing modern, millennial adulthood. Through the main characters Issa (Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji), audiences get a first-hand look at dating, work-life, friendship and familial relationships as young Black women.
Debuting on HBO in 2016, Insecure has returned for three seasons and now, the fourth is at our fingertips.
READ MORE: Issa Rae comedy ‘Love Birds’ goes straight to Netflix
The season four official trailer reveals a few things: Issa remains the queen of awkward, Lawrence (Jay Ellis) is back with a new boo, and Kelli (Natasha Rothwell) dresses as Halle Berry’s character in B*A*P*S at some point this season. As trailers should, not many details are revealed about the upcoming season.
Many of the characters of Insecure have been running the same mile for three seasons. It is time for the real growth the characters inch toward each episode. Still, there are other wishes for season four, and one has already come true.
READ MORE: Issa Rae shuts down rumors she’s remaking ‘Set It Off’: ‘I would never’
Seasons one through three finished with eight, 30-minute episodes that occur in the blink of an eye, even with the after-show. This season, episodes will remain 30-minutes, however, Rae shares that season four will be extended to 10 episodes. What else do we wish for season four?
Issa in a healthy relationship
(Photo: HBO)
Will this be the season viewers get to watch an emotionally healthy Issa flourish? The situationships make for good Twitter debates, however, the former may make for better television. In season four, I hope Issa finds a healthy romantic relationship. For years, Issa Dee has dealt with awkward amorous interactions and relationships with dead-ends. For at least part of the season, Issa deserves to be loved fully and that love needs to be shown on screen.
Show in the show
(Photo: HBO)
The show-in-the-show is always a treat during the Insecure broadcast. Between season three’s rift on reboots with ‘Kev’yn’ to season two’s ‘Due North,’ a slave drama starring Regina Hall, the fictional show in the already fiction show gives insight to the character’s interest. During an interview with TheWrap, showrunner Prentice Penny shares the inspiration behind ‘Kev’yn’ was the lack of Black shows being rebooted.
“This season, we were just talking a lot about how much we love like ’90s Black sitcoms, and obviously in the wake of ‘Roseanne’ and ‘Will and Grace’ and, you know, ‘Full House’ and all the shows they brought back, we just started having discussions too about like, why aren’t they rebooting any shows of color?” Penny said. Hopefully, the show-within-the-show this season is just back, and as satisfying.
More Kelli
(Photo: HBO)
Kelli often adds a level of truth underlined by humor that Issa and Molly are incapable of delivering. Her moments on-screen are often the most refreshing. “I think people tune in every week and love Kelli is because she is unpredictable, and not the cliché portrayal of a plus-size friend,” Natasha Rothwell said on her character to ESSENCE.
Hopefully this season, Kelli gets a storyline beyond being the funny friend with her life together. Season three introduced a new vulnerable side of Kelli and I want to see more. Her outspoken, dynamic personality deserves to be humanized by emotions not simply defined by laughter, smiles, and status.
A banging soundtrack
(Photo: HBO)
One amazing thing about Insecure is the music used to soundtrack the show. Viewers have come to expect and anticipate the playlist to follow each season. From City Girls to Little Simz, the show has featured both rising and established artists in hip-hop, R&B, and pop genres. The creative team diligently selects music that matches the story in both lyrics and sound. Music supervisor Kier Lehman, who has worked on Insecure since the show’s inception, credits Rae with adding her own personal ear to the song selections.
“It’s definitely driven by Issa. It’s her voice and her tastes, and I work with her as kind of a facilitator. So as we get into the beginning of the season, especially now that we’ve worked together for a little while, we have a shorthand,” Lehman told Variety.
“I know what she likes, so I’m reaching out to artists to get music if it’s unreleased or ahead of an album coming out, or reaching out to artists to see if they can create music.”
The official trailer reintroduced the Insecure gang with Yung Baby Tate and Kari Faux’s
“Hot Girl.”
Millennial looks
(Photo: HBO)
It’s time for Insecure’s girl gang to get major wardrobe upgrades. Not wearing designer looks or couture pieces every episode, but having a clear, signature style defined by their character’s personality, means, and ideals. The predecessors of Insecure in the Black TV canon such as Living Single, The Fresh Prince of BelAir, and Girlfriends had wardrobes that captured not only each character’s persona but gave looks that captured the time.
Will future generations look back at the outfit choices on Insecure and crave the Black millennial looks? Issa’s graphic t-shirts and quirky pattern mixing and Molly’s legal looks can be taken to the next level.
