This week, Survival of the Thickest returns for its sophomore season on Netflix, and the show, which already felt like a much-needed and joyful escape, is even more poignant now.
For the unfamiliar, the series follows the exploits and experiences of Mavis Beaumont (as played by Michelle Buteau and based loosely on her book of essays), and her friends as they navigate both career challenges and (queer) romantic ones. Mavis has dreams of becoming both a famed stylist to the stars and of making the world — by way of the fashion industry — a more welcoming and accessible place for people with larger bodies (or, as she puts it, folks with oddy bodies and fatty baddies. Season two picks up with Mavis quickly finding herself single again but ready to pour herself into growing her brand, and creating more space and acceptance for everybody beginning with her own brick-and-mortar store.
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It’s aspirational to be sure, but much has changed in the real world since season one made its way to Netflix in July 2023. So while the show is as funny and charming as ever, Mavis’ quest to take on the system just hits a little different this time. And that’s a very good thing.
It’s not lost on Buteau who is excited to use her platform to elevate the voices and stories of marginalized people and is unapologetically an ally to the queer community. “Everybody is our brother and sister — we’re all family. So can we just do that?” she asks PRIDE.
She has high hopes that LGBTQ+ people will feel uplifted by this season which sees multiple queer love stories unfold.
Buteau says her desire is one that the queer audience knows. “That” they are worthy and important and that they matter and that they should have happy endings and a community to go through stuff with.” For the actor, creator, and producer of the show, Buteau sees the show as, “such a love letter to my friends and I always say the oddy bodies and fatty baddies in the queer community to be like we got this let’s keep going. While I have this moment on this platform to do this show I’m gonna do what I can to make us shine, bitch.”
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While she is serious about her allyship, Buteau can’t help but joke about the pleasures and pitfalls of bringing her love stories to the screen this season. Fresh off of a heartbreak, Mavis is ready to embrace her “hoe” side in season two, which sees her set out on a spree of dates: some that go well and some that go hilariously wrong. But there’s a method to all the madness, says Buteau.
“I had a lot more intimate scenes than I had in season one. I think trying to figure out how to tell that story in the most beautiful way, but also honest way, so it’s like maybe less makeup because I think it’s very important to tell women that they don’t need a beat face in order to be loved or dicked down, or however you enjoy your sex,” she explains. Adding, “But I’m not gonna lie… being on set having cooked meals for you all the time and then trying on a bunch of lingerie in between lunch, it’s just like, ‘What is this gonna be? That was a little challenging, but it was also really fun. It’s also an honor, but it’s also really hard not to fart on them sometimes.”
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That quote perfectly encapsulates the ethos and balancing act that Survival embodies. It’s activism and humor, sexiness, and humanity all rolled into one utterly watchable series. Fart jokes? You bet, but it also presents a world that suggests what our real one could be if we just led with love and acceptance.
It’s also why the inclusion of drag legend Peppermint, playing a version of herself, adds so much depth — and hope — to the proceedings. The drag superstar, broadway actress, and trans activist doesn’t mince words when it comes to seeing how this show can serve as a powerful tool of empathy building in a time when we truly need it most.
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“In the day and age where we’re hearing people who weren’t elected to be very close to certain high offices in the country, talking about how empathy is the enemy and the death of this country, which is not true, but that is what has been said because they know that empathy is the one thing that will defend people against this type of dehumanization,” Peppermint tells PRIDE. “You cannot dehumanize who you empathize with, and that is key.”
She continues. “We need each other, and I can impact you, and you can impact me. It’s inevitable, if we’re sharing space, we will impact each other and improve on each other’s lives,” she tells PRIDE. “That’s one of the things that Michelle and the writers do so well [in season two.]”
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Like the best of entertainment, Survival of the Thickest manages to do both things, entertain first and foremost, but it also invites us to open up our hearts to characters, some of whom are like us, some of us whose lived experiences are totally unlike ours and to love them both. That’s not just a recipe for queer joy, it’s one for survival.
Survival of the Thickest season two is streaming now on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.
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