“Survival of the Thickest” is here! The streaming series from the mind of comedian, actress and producer Michelle Buteau is finally on Netflix. TheGrio’s Jared Alexander caught up with Buteau ahead of the series premiere, breaking down her experience creating and telling her own story for television, what the big surprises were for her in the process and more.
As theGrio previously reported, “Survival of the Thickest” tells the story of Mavis Beaumont (Buteau), a Black, plus-size and freshly single stylist who is thrown a curve ball and forced to reimagine and rebuild her career. She is “Determined to not only survive but thrive with the support of her chosen family, a body-positive attitude, and a cute v-neck with some lip gloss,” the description reads.
For Buteau, who has spent years in the industry working in films, her own comedy specials and more, the opportunity to create her own series came at a perfect time, she told theGrio.
“When I have friends who are frustrated that things aren’t happening fast enough for them, I’m just like, you have to find joy and peace when things aren’t happening or you think they’re not happening. Just keep doing you, whether it’s writing something or doing stand-up, because I’ll tell you what, once you finally do get the opportunity you want to be good and ready and responsible with your words, feelings and thoughts.”
“I don’t know that 25-year-old Michelle or even 35-year-old Michelle would be able to stand her ground the way I did in many meetings as 45-year-old Michelle,” she said. “I know my truth, I trust my instincts, I know what funny is. I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what people want to see and I absolutely know what we need to see.”
In “Survival of the Thickest,” Buteau gets to tell an authentic New York City story that’s closer to the city she experiences in her own life, complete with diverse representation across the board from various body types, LGBTQ+ representation and more. “No shade to ‘Seinfeld,’ ‘Friends’ and
‘Sex and the City,'” she quipped.
Buteau said the opportunity to serve as showrunner on the series offered her moments to utilize skills she has picked up over the years. “I really love what I do and I feel like I have been doing it for over 20 years but I’ve been doing a lot of it for free,” she explained. “You make your own tapes, and you write your own sketch, and you shoot your sketch … by the time you get to where you want to be, yeah, you can do it, because you’ve put in the other education.”
As for the character Mavis’ journey, Buteau hopes it can connect with audiences who are also at a crossroads in their lives.
“In that moment, especially in your late 30s … it’s like, who are you going to be? What are you going to do? Are you going to be depressed and talk about it forever or are you going to follow your gut and live life on your own terms?”
She added, “I just hope that people are entertained and also inspired, quite frankly.”
“Survival of the Thickest” is available to stream now on Netflix.
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