The highly anticipated series from the breakout star of “Insecure” and “White Lotus” has landed.
While the title may be jarring to some, the Onyx Collective and Hulu series, “How To Die Alone” is the dramedy (comedy with dramatic elements) that Black women need. Created, written, and executive produced by Natasha Rothwell, who also stars in the leading role as Melissa, a 35-year-old airport employee whose brush with death is the catalyst for her to begin to live life to the fullest.
The series was partly inspired by the uncertainty that Rothwell faced in her 20s when she wondered if she would die alone, without experiencing a romantic relationship. On-screen, Rothwell takes her character on a self-actualization journey where she learns that “being alone” isn’t synonymous with being “lonely.” Within the 8-episode first season, Melissa learns to live a full life by embracing new experiences and deepening her plutonic and familial relationships.
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In addition to Rothwell, Vera Santamaria, also serves as the series co-creator and executive producer. When asked what she hopes audiences will take away from the series, Santamaria said, “Being alone can be a beautiful thing, if you’re content, and if you have people in your life to the extent that you want them, you have that agency within.
“Whereas, with loneliness, there’s a longing where you wish that there was something different happening in your life. So hopefully through the show, we’re making that distinction while also empowering aloneness.”
During Melissa’s self-love journey, she also has to grapple with her tendency to self-sabotage which includes what could have been a healthy and loving relationship with Alex played by actor Jocko Sims. When Alex is ready to take the next step in their relationship Melissa suddenly ends things because she doesn’t feel worthy of the love she truly desires. To Melissa’s dismay, Alex quickly moves on and begins dating a new woman who becomes his fiancé.
Throughout the season, audiences see Melissa become determined to rekindle her relationship with Alex so much so that she overlooks another potential suitor in her good friend and sounding board Terrance, (actor KeiLyn Durrel Jones). When asked what he hopes audiences take away from Melissa and Alex’s complicated relationship, Sims said, “I hope that the audiences watching Mel’s journey leave believing that they’re good enough. I hope they feel confident in doing things to be seen and heard, and know that it’s okay to mess up, make mistakes, and try again. I like to call the show Mel’s journey to finding ways to give herself permission to fly, literally and figuratively.”
Echoing similar sentiments, KeiLyn Durrel Jones said, “You can’t pour into somebody else’s cup if your cup is empty. So being lonely isn’t necessarily a pejorative as it pertains to loneliness. If you can find the time and space to be alone it can lead to self-exploration, self-improvement, self-care, self-love, and self-enlightenment. Then you can open yourself up to be loved and to love someone else.”
The series also does a masterful job of exploring how friends who were once bonded by codependency have their relationship put to the test. When Melissa begins to feel more self-assured and aspires to advance in her career by participating in a managerial training program, her best friend Rory (actor Conrad Ricamora) doesn’t want her to take the opportunity and he projects his insecurities onto her.
Giving insight into one of the most emotionally charged scenes in the series, Ricamora said, “We all have those friendships in our 20s and our 30s, where you go out together and have a good time, you console and comfort each other all the time, but then, when you start to grow into the person that you want to be, that puts a strain on those relationships.”
He adds, “What Natasha lays out so beautifully in this show are two people becoming who they need to be while desperately trying to maintain their friendship and as in real life, it doesn’t always go smoothly.”
For viewers who see themselves in Melissa and want to take steps towards changing their circumstances, Santamaria shares this advice, “It starts with the recognition that change isn’t always going to be a straight line trajectory.When you decide to change your life, understand that there’ll be regressions. It’s going to look good for a while and then there’ll be setbacks. But don’t let that stop you, keep going. There’s beauty in trying even if you fail.
So, if I were to meet someone who’s similar to pre-accident Mel, I would say, identify the thing that you want and start small knowing that a lot of baby steps can make something really beautiful in the end. And there’s no shame in making one small change and seeing how that works, it can happen in your own time.”
New episodes of “How To Die Alone” produced by ABC Signature in association with Big Hattie Productions are released on Fridays on Hulu.
