Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (June 18, 2026)
Back in 2015, a Hulu show called Difficult People debuted. Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner played two New York comedians who hate almost everything except each other.
That sounds like a limiting concept for a full series but I figured I’d give it a look. This Blu-ray includes all eight of Season One’s episodes, with synopses taken from the official website.
Library Water: “Billy Epstein (Eichner) and Julie Kessler (Klausner) come up with an entrepreneurial scheme to sell bottled library water-fountain water and Julie gets in trouble for a controversial tweet.”
Going into “Water”, I don’t recall any prior experience with Klausner as an on-screen presence but I knew some of Eichner’s work. Some of his stuff – like his “Billy On the Street” videos – amused me, but his 2022 movie Bros made me much less eager to see more of him.
Still, People showed enough promise to get me to watch. The theoretical one-note nature of the unpleasant lead characters caused some caution, but I figured I’d give it a shot.
At least for one episode, I like what I see. Can an entire series about mean-spirited and selfish lead characters work?
That remains to be seen, but “Water” comes with enough cleverness and wit to succeed. It launches the series on a positive note.
Devil’s Three-Way: “Julie seeks out an old high-school crush (Nate Corddry) and brings him to bed with her and boyfriend Arthur (James Urbaniak). Meanwhile, Billy finds a father-figure in Denise's (Gabourey Sidibe) husband, Nate (Derrick Baskin).”
If S1 of People will go south, it won’t happen in the second episode. Some of this comes from the way it bounces off of supporting characters a bit more than the pilot did, so that takes the emphasis off of the two leads and their unpleasantness.
Not that Billy and Julie suddenly become any less awful, though we do get some insights that soften them ever so slightly. Throw in unexpected references to 1987’s Judge Reinhold comedy Vice Versa and enough wit emerges to turn this into another solid show.
Pledge Week: “Billy hits it off with a new man (John Benjamin Hickey) only to find out he’s a ‘participator’. Meanwhile, Julie’s home-life crumbles as Arthur cracks under the pressure of the PBS pledge drive.”
Billy’s attempts to stop being mean add a hilarious twist to “Week”, as does the twist of what “participator” means in this show’s context. Arthur seemed like a one-note role in the first two episodes, but his irrational angst about Pledge Week brings some spark.
Julie gets a bit less to do than usual, but other factors like a wonderful guest spot from Kate McKinnon and a brief but delightful Martin Short cameo balance out this area. We wind up with a good continuation of S1.
The Courage of a Soldier: “Billy visits his very Jewish brother Garry (Fred Armisen) for Yom Kippur dinner and Julie attempts to befriend a veteran to prove to her mother Marilyn's (Andrea Martin) surrogate daughter Nicole (Maria Thayer) that she’s charitable.”
After an episode where she got slightly sidelined, Julie enjoys more to do here. Her competition with Nicole allows Julie to kick into miffed – and funny - higher gear.
Armisen amuses as Billy’s henpecked brother and Jackie Hoffman delights as Garry’s horrible wife.
The Children’s Menu: “While Billy’s bosses are out of town, Billy and Julie overhaul the café menu with children’s cuisine at adult prices.”
The notion of a restaurant that only sells food meant for kids feels awfully Seinfeld but at least the episode manages a twist. Other aspects of the show click as well to keep S1’s winning streak intact.
Even Later: “Billy and Julie prepare a portfolio for a writing gig but find it easier to procrastinate than write.”
The manner in which Julie and Billy waste time takes “Later” down clever paths. Toss in delightful cameos from Amy Sedaris and Ana Gasteyer to bring us another strong episode.
Premium Membership: “Billy and Julie decide to create their own podcast, but it proves more difficult than anticipated. Meanwhile, Billy has some unexpected fun at the dog park.”
A sign People offers a strong series: I’ve not mentioned Andrea Martin yet. As the awful My Big Fat Greek Wedding films revealed, she can’t redeem the irredeemable, but she can elevate good material.
Martin acts as a highlight whenever she appears, and SCTV fans will recognize that the stage production Marilyn mounts offers a wink at Martin’s Libby Wolfson character. Add Seth Meyers in a small part and we continue on a good roll.
Difficult Christmas: “Julie and Billy book a gig at The Cutting Room but Billy’s newfound obligation to family threatens to compromise their big break.”
My only real complaint about People comes from Julie’s partner Arthur. He never makes sense as a connection to Julie and his never-ending parade of pet names for her got old around the third episode.
I do find our brief glimpse of his uber-WASPy parents amusing, and other aspects of “Christmas” compensate. The holiday setting makes the program slightly more sentimental than usual but it does well enough to work.
