Staged 2 came on Hulu in the US on March 16th and I watched the entire season the same day. (Yes, I know it’s been a month since then. I’ve been busy.) When it came out in the UK, my Twitter was bombarded with praise and I couldn’t wait to watch it! Most of the time when movies or tv shows are hyped up and we’re expecting huge things, we’re often disappointed because the bar is set so high. This is definitely not one of those times. It really is just as much fun to watch as the first season and the twist on it is just as brilliant as the idea for the show itself.
When I clicked on the first episode, I honestly thought I was watching a discussion on the first season with Romesh Ranganathan as a set up for season two. It didn’t get me for too long, after just a few minutes it’s obvious that this is the beginning of season 2, but it’s still so realistic that it had me for a bit. This show is so much more realistic than any other show or movie could be, even counting ones from handheld cameras, and even though you know it’s scripted, it’s difficult to keep that in mind as you watch the actors. Well, except for those who aren’t playing themselves such as Whoopi Goldberg playing David Tennant‘s and Michael Sheen‘s (Michael Sheen’s and David Tennant’s) agent named Mary, who can’t remember which actor is who as she constantly calls Michael “David.” Or actors who are being terrible to others such as Sir Michael Palin telling them he hated Staged in the very first scene.
If you haven’t watched it yet – first off, what are you waiting for??!! – it follows the duo as they find out there’s going to be an American version made of Staged and all of the actors are coming back for it. Except for Michael and David themselves because they aren’t “well-known enough” for American television. I guess we’ll just ignore David in Jessica Jones, Doctor Who, Ducktales, Fright Night, and Harry Potter and Michael in the Underworld franchise, the Twilight franchise, The Prodigal Son, TRON: Legacy, and Frost/Nixon along with both of them in the amazing Good Omens movie/series on Amazon. (See my Good Omens posts here and here.) But then again, that’s what makes it all the funnier. We all know they’re known among majority of Americans. And they know it too. Simon is in LA rewriting the script that caters to Americans and gets most of the anger from David and Michael (especially David) aimed towards him. This rewrite for Americans is highly amusing because as an American, I found Staged funny and relatable anyway. So all this “We must change things to make Americans happy” is really quite amusing because, I think, had American ratings not been so high for the first season we wouldn’t have been able to get the second season so quickly and they know this. They must know it. I just think it’s great.
So now we’re seeing the two men go off the deep end and utterly trash their reputations by trying to give bad advice to the potential actors playing their roles or the opposite man’s role. They start using them as “therapy things,” as their “agent” calls it. And during other video calls they start putting their awards in the background and Michael even “brings” his daughter into the room in her stroller to try to make him look better. It doesn’t help that Michael is having problems trying to get to America for his best friend’s wedding (WAIT – David isn’t his best friend??) and David’s new production keeps changing locations so he’s constantly leaving his luggage around the house, much to Georgia‘s irritation, expecting to leave at any time. Everything just keeps escalating as they try to regain their roles in the worst ways possible, figure out what’s going on with their travel plans, and bickering at each other the entire time as well. It’s just freaking hilarious.
One of the biggest things we learn, bitches, is that Simon cannot write women. Can I get an amen, chiquitas?!
Eck. That hurt just writing it. Part of Staged 2 is Simon trying to write a storyline for a charity event Georgia, Anna, and Lucy are taking part in and it’s so cringeworthy. But it really helps to maintain the first storyline of him possibly not being able to handle big projects and gives us some more screen time of these wonderful ladies. After reading Simon’s story, Lucy decides she’s going to rewrite her brother’s story herself. Meanwhile, they get time to vent their frustrations as well. Naturally Georgia and Anna get caught in the crossfire of their partners yelling at each other off screen while the two women attempt to hold a conversation. One of my favorite parts is when Georgia gets tired of their fighting and yells at Simon for him to fix it.
S: “David called me a mollusk!”
G: “You’ve been called worse.”
S: “I’ve not.”
G: “You fucking should have been!”
I was dying!! Of course, Simon can’t get the two men to talk and smooth matters over and Georgia has to do it herself. And that’s only a single funny moment from the entire series. But I have to say that Georgia getting frustrated about and towards David always makes me laugh because I can relate so much. Their relationship (at least on screen, though, as I’ve said before, I feel like they’re similar to their roles) just reminds me of my husband’s and mine so much. For me it makes it all the better. And call me what you will but I still love the fact that both seasons have the men falling apart with the women rolling their eyes at their childish ways and putting everything back together again. And it’s not because I hate men but in general, for many of us, we can relate to that happening. Not that we’re perfect by any means or that all men are a mess all the time, my husband helps me put my life back together too at times, but it’s a common trope for a reason. (I feel like I’m digging a hole for myself here.) The point is, how it’s written is fucking hilarious and I love it.
And we get even more cameos this season. I’ve already mentioned Whoopi Goldberg and Sir Michael Palin, but then we also get Ewan McGregor (a Scotsman playing another Scotsman but for an American audience), Jim Parsons, Nina Sosanya is back but as herself (love her!), Ben Schwartz is Mary’s assistant Tom, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Cate Blanchett (who “ruined” Michael’s career), Josh Gad, Dr Ken Jeong, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (they integrated her working on Broadchurch with David hilariously), Hugh Bonneville, and Christoph Waltz. Almost all of the cameos from these actors are reading for Michael’s and David’s parts and their reactions to the two men as they flip back and forth from sabotaging the actors’ efforts to getting out their frustrations on the other actors are so varied and amazing.
I’ve watched the second season twice now and dropped into some sections here and there for this post and I still laugh every single time even though I know what’s coming. I think I may just have to watch season 1 and 2 back to back next. And the ending of this season is so adorable with both David and Georgia (“Wanna make out?”) and the separation anxiety of Michael and David. It makes me want to squish them all.
Seriously though. If you haven’t watched any of Staged, go check it out on Hulu right now (for Americans). You will not be disappointed. It is still absolutely one of the best things to come out of COVID and quarantine and everyone is freaking brilliant. Get going!!
For your viewing pleasure, a skit based off Staged they did for Red Nose Day in Britain.
The Variety of David Tennant (and friends) 