Lady Dynamite | |
---|---|
Genre |
Comedy Surrealism |
Created by |
Pam Brady Mitch Hurwitz |
Starring |
Maria Bamford Fred Melamed Mary Kay Place |
Composer(s) | David Schwartz |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 12 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Maria Bamford Mitch Hurwitz Pam Brady Kristen Zolner Andy Weil Jane Wiseman |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 26-35 minutes |
Production company(s) | Wounded Poodle The Hurwitz Company |
Distributor | Netflix |
Release | |
Original network | Netflix |
Picture format | 1080i (16:9 HDTV) |
Original release | May 20, 2016 – present |
External links | |
Official website |
Lady Dynamite is an American comedy series created by Pam Brady and Mitch Hurwitz, on Netflix. The series stars Maria Bamford, and is loosely based on her life. The twelve-episode first season was released in its entirety on May 20, 2016. The series was renewed for a second season, along with several other Netflix Originals, on July 27, 2016.
Stand-up comedian/actress Maria Bamford (portrayed by herself) moves back to Los Angeles after spending six months away in recovery for bipolar disorder and attempts to build up her life from scratch with the help of her agent Bruce Ben-Bacharach (Fred Melamed). Throughout the entire first season, flashbacks are employed to gain an insight on Maria's backstory and her relationships with her family and friends.
"What I hope people get from [the show] is that by losing everything, it's possible to become something better. At least in real life, I have a much more reasonably paced life than I ever had when I was slightly banana head. In losing some of my ambition, it made it so I can have relationships and a better life. That has been learned throughout the ages: You mean money and prestige doesn't make people happy? Nope."
The show came to be when Mitch Hurwitz approached Maria Bamford and asked her if she had an idea for a series, reportedly in 2013. Part of the pitch was telling a story about a mental breakdown. The project was no more than talks for years. Later, Hurwitz attached Pam Brady to the project to write and direct. Bamford described this process as "extremely slow".
The use of nonlinear narrative in the show was part of Bamford's pitch. It is used to portray the different mental states people can go through, and also how they overcome it. In that way, the show's flashbacks serve as "a reminder of that journey." Bamford describes the show's narrative structure as "Bloodline, with me."