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Funny women are not easy to find. After all, where is the space left for humour when it’s all about the hero, right? Most of the time, we’re told to laugh at women — think Lara (Evelyn Sharma) from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) or Taani (Anushka Sharma) from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) — because most of the time, it's just laughable how dense they are. Fortunately, things are changing, thanks to men who don’t reduce women to either a punchline or eye candy, and above all, to women writing women (finally!). The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is an amalgam of both. Written by couple Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, the series follows Midge (Rachel Brosnahan), a wife and mother, who discovers that she’s a terrific comic too. Season five of the series drops on Prime Video on April 14. Ahead of its release, here are some of our favourite funny women on OTT platforms:
Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Fleabag flits between a reality occupied by the absence of a best friend and one where she breaks the fourth wall to confide in her audience. She’s funny when she mismanages these realities. However, humour intentionally basks in the spotlight when she uses it as a defence mechanism. Self-deprecating jokes, sex jokes, suicide jokes are all shields against having tough conversations. Undeniably, they make for effective deflections that almost have you forgetting the jester behind the jokes.
Streaming on Prime Video.
In a series that follows three siblings on a journey of self-discovery and what they mean to each other, Maanvi Gagroo plays Chanchal, the sole sister. She marries into a royal family but isn’t prepared for the pretension that comes with it. In public, she’s all airs and graces. Behind closed doors, however, she doesn’t hold back from telling off her husband and ridiculing her brothers. When she isn’t playing queen to a kingdom that she mocks for its affectation, Chanchal is a cool girl™. Her seamless transitions from one to the other are comedy gold.
Streaming on Zee5.
Jessica Day (Zooey Deschanel) moves into an apartment with three men and turns their world upside down with her tomfoolery and the ability to break into song randomly. She’s a ray of sunshine that first blinds you with her naivete and then melts you with her empathy. The series doesn't deny that Jess can be exasperating. After all, there’s an Annoyance Bowl - the equivalent of a Swear Jar - specifically for her to put money in.
Streaming on Disney+Hotstar
This Tamil-language reality show pairs comedians who are amateur cooks with personalities from the entertainment industry. They are expected to impress the judges with mouthwatering dishes. From balancing utensils on their heads and falling from swings to dancing, we see them perform tasks one wouldn’t normally associate with cooking, which the show mines for humour. Sivaangi Krishnakumar and Manimegalai stand out in the show that shot them to fame. They impersonate celebrities, botch recipes and don’t shy away from poking fun at other contestants.
TV show on Disney+Hotstar.
With mother Gilmore and daughter Gilmore, it’s always jokes galore. But it’s obvious that Rory (Alexis Bledel) gets her funny bone from her mom Lorelai (Lauren Graham), who is incredibly charming and magnetic. Lorelai’s interest in literature, films and music inspires not only her conversations (at one point, she is around a vat of boiling oil and asks where Quasimodo is) but also important decisions (she names her dog Paul Anka).
Streaming on Netflix.
Beanie (Swara Bhaskar) cancels her wedding to pursue a life that is not steered by marriage and the possibility of children. Instead, she wants to make a living out of laughter. Our very own Mrs Maisel gets on stage and bombs a few times, but her set on having sex in a public toilet has people doubling over. For Beanie, stand-up goes from being therapeutic to an adventure sport. The more she emerges from her shell, the more spontaneous her humour becomes.
Streaming on Netflix.
Created by and starring Sumukhi Suresh, the series follows the titular character as she migrates to Bengaluru on the pretext of a job. In her pursuit of making an acquaintance fall in love with her, she does everything from hiding in shrubs to stalking him via stall owners. She's innocently malicious and makes for a convincing stalker who follows her dreams with unwavering determination. She puts up with a temperamental boss and a fussy landlady only to pretend in front of the supposed love of her life that their meeting is accidental.
Streaming on Prime Video.
In another series starring Waller-Bridge, we witness a group of tenants navigate their attraction for each other. Lulu (Waller-Bridge) makes us laugh just as much as she induces second-hand embarrassment. Especially when she is drunk and revealing intimate secrets about her best friend’s girlfriend. Her jokes are often cruel. From gliding on curry-covered floor to meddling with the aforementioned friend’s relationship, Lulu is quite literally all over the place. And unlike Fleabag, who uses humour to deflect, this Waller-Bridge character uses it to demean her friends.
The web series is streaming on Netflix.
Manju Devi (Neena Gupta) is the Pradhan or sarpanch of Phulera village, which she governs with a heavy hand. She is effortlessly sarcastic, negotiates like a pro and has a short fuse. With a frown consistently gracing her face, we are reminded that Manju Devi is amusing only because we watch her through a screen. A face-to-face encounter would probably have us stuttering. She is generous and a pursuer of justice but it’s when she’s being bad that she brings a smile to our faces.
Streaming on Prime Video.
The series follows four college students navigating a hormone fuelled environment. They take screenshots with their brain (turns out, Alia Bhatt isn’t the only one), take up courses that have ‘Intro’ in their name, make clothes out of caution tape and fake confidence until they don’t have to. Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet), Bela (Amrit Kaur), Leighton (Reneé Rapp) and Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) have a bawdy sense of humour which draws from their happening love lives and their impeccable chemistry with each other.
Streaming on Prime Video.
Another series featuring four roommates, Girls Hostel follows the shenanigans that take place in a building full of female college students. From encountering bra thieves, strict curfews and stricter seniors to running for student council elections and protesting space constraints, we see them attempting to make the best out of their living situation. They respond to circumstances in their own ways but never forget to have fun while they’re at it. The series stars Parul Gulati, Ahsaas Channa and Srishti Shrivastava.
Streaming on SonyLIV.