‘The Detour’ Season 3 Is Tackling Gender Norms & Stereotypes Left And Right

TBS’ brilliant original comedy The Detour, which is now in its third overall season, has never been afraid to think outside the box. Centering on a dysfunctional family who is consistently on the run from the law, the series never fails to provide devastatingly comical twists and turns at every corner. Brought to you by husband-wife team Jason Jones and Samantha Bee, the show just returned last month and is tackling gender norms and stereotypes left and right in Season 3.

In Season 3, Episode 1 titled “The Run,” the Parkers end up in a remote Alaskan town where they attempt to finally settle down using undercover personas. When Delilah (Ashley Gerasimovich) and Jareb (Liam Carroll) are escorted to the town’s fair, they meet the mayor’s assistant at the dunking booth who goes by the name “Straight Jack.” Assuming Jack’s sexuality from his demeanor, including the way he talks and dresses, Delilah asks if he gave himself the nickname to which he admits. After sinking Jack in the booth, Jack comments that he hasn’t “gone down that much since college.” Towards the end of the episode, Jack proclaims that the town is all-inclusive. “We don’t care about race, religion, sexual orientation or politics,” he states with an emphasis on sexual orientation. Despite his blatant hints, he has yet to declare that he is anything but straight, which means that the Parker children are making assumptions (something that is done far too often in our society).

In Season 3, Episode 2 titled “The Stop,” Robin (Natalie Zea) begins working at a town establishment called Whale Tails while Nate (Jones) assumes the responsibilities of a stay-at-home Dad. “How do you afford to live? Does your wife make the money?,” asks one of the townies, to which Nate reluctantly admits to. Referring to himself as “Mr. Mom” while making rocket ship pancakes for the children, Nate is confronted with a number of uncomfortable scenarios that society would assume a mother is more equipped for. Delilah has her first orgasm while riding a snowmobile and only wants to talk to her mom. She eventually opens up to Nate (at the most inopportune time imaginable) and his initial reaction is very dismissive. He eventually addresses the topic by buying Delilah an electric toothbrush to use, you know, for other things besides brushing her teeth.

Also during the episode, Jareb has a date and Nate immediately asks “who is she?,” assuming that she is a female. Jareb replies “their mom is picking me up” and that “he doesn’t like it when I’m late.” Confused by the “he” pronoun, Nate continues asking questions to the frustration of Jareb who declares that Sarah (aka “they”) is nonbinary and doesn’t identify as one gender or another. Nate’s tone seems a bit judgy but he explains that he’s truly just trying to learn about the topic. “I’m not judging,” says Nate. “I’m just trying to understand it.”

Nate also struggles with the fact that Robin is not only the “breadwinner” but is spending too much time with her boss “Big Poppa,” who he assumes is a man. The fact that everyone refers to Big Poppa as a “he” and calls him “two-spirited” does not help ease Nate’s distrust. Nate later realizes what “two-spirited” means upon meeting both Big Poppa and Jareb’s date Sarah. All of these scenarios are excellent examples of how gender norms can often encourage false preconceived notions about a person’s sexual identity.

In Episode 3 titled “The Mark,” Nate gets called out publicly by Delilah’s new love interest Mason at his one man comedy show. Mason’s insecurities makes him assume that Nate is judging him based on his skin color. He takes it too far by putting words in Nate’s mouth, claiming that Nate said some hurtful stereotypical things to him and demanding that he apologize in front of the crowd. While Nate and Robin whisper to each other, another attendee urges them to be quiet since the show is “important because it’s diverse.” Nate eventually apologizes for offending Mason in any way and Mason continues to push the issue. This interchange shows two things: 1) that stereotypes are still very much present in our society and 2) while we have to speak out against stereotyping when appropriate, we can’t always assume someone is stereotyping and be so quick to accuse them.

As the show continues to power through its third season, there will be plenty more chances for its writers to touch on further relevant topics as they relate to gender norms and stereotypes. Thus far, we’re impressed by how the series has presented the repercussions of making assumptions about a person’s sexuality, gender and nationality and are eager to see what further life lessons are in store for the Parkers.

Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor

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