Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Life & Beth’ Season 2 On Hulu, Where Amy Schumer And Michael Cera’s Characters Cement Their Relationship

Two years ago, Season 1 of Life & Beth was a funny and emotional reflection of where Amy Schumer’s life was at that point, which was when marriage, motherhood, and chronic health issues entered her life, something which she shared with fans on her social media as well as docuseries like Expecting Amy. Season 2 shows Amy’s character Beth in a better place in her life, but still being upended by the traumas of the past.

LIFE & BETH SEASON 2: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Beth (Amy Schumer) and John (Michael Cera) are shown living domestic life on his farm, while Beth’s voice is wondering where she stands with him.

The Gist: Beth is saying all of this stuff to her doctor (David Byrne), who, as usual, is exceedingly uncomfortable with Beth’s oversharing. He, however, does find a widow’s hump on the back of her neck, which is benign but gives Beth one more complex she doesn’t need.

She’s in the city to go to the spa Maya (Yamaneika Saunders) works at, joining their buddies Jen (Arielle Siegel) and Jess (Sas Goldberg) for some gratis massages and facials. Much to Maya’s annoyance, they bring sub sandwiches into the sauna, mainly because Beth did not know “the food situation.”

As the friends have a soak (Maya is still working, but the other three are soaking), Jess and Jen complain about how stagnant their marriages are, but Beth, who is going to have a nice night out with John that night, thinks they should all embrace being newly in their forties, and Maya encourages everyone to send their mates a “puss pic”. Beth takes it further by saying they should try to have phone sex with their men. It doesn’t quite go as planned.

We flash back to 1999, when Beth (Violet Young) is hanging with the same three friends in high school. A popular boy comes up to them and hands Beth a mix tape he made, and Beth’s buddies prod him to ask her out. With their mother Jane (Laura Benanti) off doing whatever she does, Beth has to take her little sister Ann (Lily Fisher) to the party where she makes out with the boy. When she gets a little shy about his physical advances, Beth tells him that she doesn’t want to be labeled a “slut.” He assures her he won’t tell anyone, but as she finds out later, that will not be the only time a man lies to her face.

Beth meets John at the restaurant for their date, and is horrified that he’s barefoot, covered in horse semen and BO, and carrying a chicken and vegetables that he’ll use to barter the chef he knows for dinner. As they sit at the “chef’s table” in a back alley, Beth starts to wonder aloud if what she perceives as John’s lack of effort is because she’s putting too much relationship pressure on him. John, in his matter of fact manner, tells Beth that he wants to be with her. “I don’t want to meet any new people. I’d marry you tomorrow,” he says.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? While Season 1 of Life & Beth reminded us of a fellow Hulu show like Shrill, Season 2 feels more like what Girls might have become had it stayed on the air for over a decade.

Our Take: Amy Schumer is still putting Beth through a lot of changes in Season 2 of Life & Beth, but this time those changes are more related to marriage and starting a life with someone, rather than the changes that she made in Season 1, after Jane died suddenly. It certainly makes for a different vibe for the show, because now Beth is in a bit more of a secure emotional position as she enters her forties, but still can’t shake the self-doubt that’s been an old friend since her childhood.

The flashback to the incident with the popular boy is an indication of this. We don’t know if Beth is specifically thinking of this as she considers her life with John going forward, but we know that this and other similar incidents are in the back of her mind. That’s what makes Life & Beth such a compelling show.

Beth’s life parallels Schumer’s life somewhat, but in this second season of the show that Schumer created (she wrote and directed the first episode of the season, as well), things diverge a bit. The second episode finds Beth and John in New Orleans to get married, co-opting Maya’s pre-planned trip; there, she really focuses in on what she wants in her life, and gets some insight into John’s life, as well. A lot of that involves annoyance at Jen and Jess, to the point where she asks Maya if they would have ever been friends with them if they had met now instead of in school. She also has to deal with the fact that Ann (Susanna Flood) isn’t 100 percent in favor of her getting married so soon — and the fact that Ann doesn’t want to leave her apartment.

The show is a good illustration of how your past always infiltrates your present, coming up in different ways as your circumstances change. Even if you think you’ve gotten past some trauma from your past, a change in your life brings up a different aspect of it and begs to be addressed once again. Beth is certainly more confident in her life decisions at the beginning of Season 2 than she was at the beginning of Season 1, but that doesn’t mean that her past has been put away completely.

Sex and Skin: None in the first two episodes.

Parting Shot: After John’s very pragmatic proposal, Beth takes him to a bowling alley, where her buddies are doing “martini bowling.” Jen slips on a martini puddle and hurts herself, and while everyone is buying into her drama, John informs Beth that he finally settled on a bowling ball. “Jen fall down?” he asks.

Sleeper Star: We love all of the show’s guest stars, from Michael Rapaport playing Beth’s father Leonard, to Dave Attell’s livestreaming rabbi, to Amy Sedaris’ overconfident wedding planner, to Gary Gulman’s portrayal of Maya’s very Zionistic boyfriend Shlomo.

Most Pilot-y Line: Beth visits her annoying business partner Cole (Cole Escola), who wants to come with her to the spa. When she says no, he cattily replies, “Fine, I’m getting my own kind of facial later today.”

Our Call: STREAM IT. We like the fact that Amy Schumer is continuing to dive deep into her psyche, with her comedy reflecting how she’s had to become a grownup over the past seven or so years. Life & Beth is a result of that reflection, and it continues to be an enjoyable journey to watch.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.