Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
What better way to prepare for the fast-approaching weekend than by indulging in the some of the Internet’s most well-done web content? Take advantage of your lunch break and treat yourself to Afternoon Delight, Decider’s carefully curated picks of the best short-form content available on the world wide web. This week we’re spotlighting Basic Witch, a wickedly witty web series available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Do your twenties seem like a total hellscape? Well, for these witchy women, they literally are (at least, sometimes). Basic Witch follows Penelope (Jessica Frey), a young witch living in New York City who goes about her days just like the rest of us – with one glaring exception. When she’s not struggling to close the deal at her real estate job due to some supernatural happenings, she’s choosing smoking over running or handling silly questions from her overly inquisitive roommate. It might sound like a quirky premise, but there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye.
What makes Basic Witch so unique is its willingness to embrace deeper themes underneath its comedy. There’s a seriousness to it, one that boasts the comic sensibilities of The Office at some points and then surprises you with feminist overtones at every turn. The everyday struggles that these witches face smartly mirrors the misogyny and racism that plays out everywhere. What kind of unfair expectations are we placing on this marginalized group? How are we minimizing them or limiting their potential by confining them to boxes? The obstacles that exist in Penelope’s path – and what she’ll do to overcome them – are unfailingly human and totally relatable.
Basic Witch perfectly captures the nightmares of being a woman in New York City while managing to remain funny and fresh all at once. Aided by strong performances from its leads (Frey in particular is absolutely magnetic), this web series (clocking in at under 4 minutes or so per episode) is undeniably irresistible. You’ll fall under Basic Witch‘s spell in no time.
