With a title like How to Die Alone, you might be expecting either a self-helpish comedy crammed with #grateful #blessed platitudes or a harrowing existential drama. This new Hulu series from creator and star Natasha Rothwell actually blends both of these possibilities into an eccentric, uplifting dramedy with a real voice at its core.
Rothwell is a TV ninja who’s flown under the radar for years, stealing scenes whenever she appears. She first made viewers take notice on Insecure; hired to be a writer on the series, she ended up being cast as Kelli, Issa’s funniest, most untethered friend. Then there was her role on the first season of White Lotus (soon to be reprised in season three) as Belinda, the soulful masseuse whose dreams are trampled by the wealthy guests she serves.
Melissa, the character Rothwell plays in How to Die Alone, has something in common with Belinda: she knows what it’s like to be invisible to those around her. Mel spends her days driving a cart through JFK, where she chatters cheerfully to passengers who barely register her presence, offering them travel tips about exotic destinations she has never visited. In fact, she is so afraid of flying that she’s never been on a plane. And she’s so scared of being rejected that she defensively dumped her ex-boyfriend Alex (Jocko Sims), a colleague who she still has to see every day. After a brush with death due to a (very relatable) Ikea-style furniture assembly accident, Mel realizes that she’s been sleepwalking through her own life. As she tells the elderly woman in the hospital bed next to hers, “I died today, and it did not live up to the hype.”
This near-death experience is initially played for laughs. As the neighbor who found Mel quips, “I thought I was about to have a ghost problem on top of my rat problem.” But the horror of what nearly happened to Mel lurks under the surface of the series, motivating her to reassess everything in her life. That includes her habit of self-sabotaging herself professionally and romantically, her family (SNL alum Ellen Cleghorne as her gratitude circle-loving mother), and her relationship with gay colleague Rory (Conrad Ricamora), who is Mel’s main companion—the only thing that stands between her and her loneliness.
It takes several episodes for How to Die Alone to find its rhythm as it toggles between Mel’s emotional journey and her workplace adventures. She and her colleagues treat the dreary airport as a wonderland full of unseen pleasures, including a falcon master who prevents birds from flying into planes and a magical area full of confiscated foods where they can sneak away with an “investment ham” worth $4000. That vibe is enhanced by surreal forays into fantasy as Mel imagines a dance-off in the airport or an alternative version of herself. And of course, there’s a hint of simmering romance between Mel and her sage tarmac buddy Terrance (KeiLyn Durrel Jones).
Everything ultimately brings her back to real life, though. At one point, Mel and her colleagues go on a madcap race through the terminal to catch a glimpse of Lizzo, who is rumored to be arriving. After it all goes haywire, Mel ends up using the superstar’s success to beat herself up: “We are both 35, both fat, both black, both fucked-up—but look what she did with it!”
Television has very few “fat, black, fucked-up” heroines, let along ones that are portrayed with such nuance and heart. Rothwell is the perfect person to change that. She recently said that her own experience—a solo trip to the hospital while writing for Insecure—inspired the show, and I’m not surprised. How to Die Alone is a poignant personal journey charting a course through the crazy gulf between Atlanta, Insecure and Ted Lasso. Instead of worrying about the final destination, Rothwell is keeping her eyes on the sky.