Comedy fans have reason to celebrate as standup star Michelle Buteau‘s heartfelt series Survival of the Thickest has secured a spot in Netflix’s top ten TV shows in the United States. The sophomore season of this body-positive romantic comedy has captured viewers’ attention with its authentic storytelling and laugh-out-loud moments, proving that diverse representation continues to resonate with streaming audiences.
The show follows Buteau’s character Mavis Beaumont, a plus-size stylist navigating the complexities of life after her relationship imploded due to infidelity in the first season. Season 2 expands her journey with international adventures, career challenges, and new romantic possibilities, all while maintaining the show’s core message of self-acceptance and personal growth.
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“When we got into Season 2 and we realized we were doing a movement. So we went from moment to movement,” explained co-creator Danielle Sanchez-Witzel in a Netflix interview. This evolution is clear in the season’s overarching theme of “leveling up,” which applies not just to Mavis but to supporting characters Khalil (Tone Bell) and Marley (Tasha Smith) as they tackle their own career shifts and emotional revelations.
The production’s commitment to diverse representation extends behind the camera as well. Buteau proudly noted in her March 31 Today Show appearance that “All 16 of our episodes were directed by women,” adding that 70% of department heads are female—a statistic that wasn’t deliberately engineered but naturally emerged from hiring the right talent for each role.
One particularly impactful storyline involves Khalil attending therapy and addressing mental health in Black communities. “It’s something that shouldn’t feel groundbreaking, but we don’t see it enough,” Sanchez-Witzel remarked in their Netflix interview. Buteau elaborated that showcasing such conversations on screen can spark important real-world discussions: “Any weird, hard conversation I’ve had with my mom or my dad is because I saw a scene in something… It’s a beautiful jump-off.”
The series doesn’t shy away from intimate scenes either, with Buteau explaining on Today that as “a size 18/20, I’m always given roles like, ‘Oh, I’m so happy that somebody finds me attractive.’ No. I’m like, if I’m gonna do my own show, I’m gonna write some sex scenes for everybody.”
Music also plays a crucial role in establishing the show’s identity. According to Buteau, she described her vision to music supervisors as wanting it to sound like “a period playlist from the ’90s for a thick, light-skinned Caribbean girl from Jersey, who is just leaving a Jersey mall parking lot.”
At its heart, Survival of the Thickest delivers a powerful message about self-love and resilience. As Buteau summed up during her Today appearance: “This is a reminder for everybody to say love on yourselves no matter what. No matter what the people tell you… joy is a proper act of resistance.”
