Tuca and Bertie season premiere takes Bertie to therapy and Tuca on a date
In the all-too-common television landscape, Tuca and Bertie, Netflix’s beloved animated series about two codependent avian best friends starring Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong, was canceled after just one season by the streamer only to be revived by Adult Swim.
An unofficial younger sibling to BoJack Horseman (Horseman producer Lisa Hanawalt created with Horseman creator Raphael Bob Waksberg producing) and spiritual successor to Broad City, the first season followed lovable and chaotic Tuca (a toucan) and anxious and neurotic Bertie (a songbird).
The second season premiere picks up roughly where the first season left off, with Bertie deciding to go to therapy to work on her panic attacks and trauma. (The first season explored both sexual harassment and assault.)
In a format the show has always excelled at, much like BoJack before it, Tuca and Bertie humanizes mental health while also pointing out the many funny things about the tedious chore of finding a therapist.
Bertie’s highly relatable anxieties and fears about burdening her boyfriend, Speckle, and Tuca with her panic attacks are verbalized and contrasted against slapstick editing and excellent characterization from the show’s regular voice actors like John Early and Nicole Byer, in keeping with the show’s overall tone.
Meanwhile, Tuca, ever attached to Bertie, decides to date, but overwhelmed by the options of dating apps, decides to create her own reality dating show. Tuca’s storylines typically operate as the more high-energy parts of each episode, allowing for a break in the tension.
As Tuca quickly eliminates an entire Sex Bus full of possible dates over superficial reasons, she’s left with one date by the end, a mechanic who soon realizes Tuca and Bertie are too codependent as Speckle calls Tuca to come help Bertie during a panic attack on their anniversary date.
Like many TV best friends before them, Abbi and Ilana, Troy and Abed, even Joey and Chandler, the heart of Tuca and Bertie is the friendship, but also the interrogation of how healthy that relationship is for the people involved. It appears this season may explore that very question. Regardless, we’re just happy to see them back on our screens.
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What did you think of Tuca and Bertie‘s second season premiere? Tell us in the comments below!