Natasha Rothwell got her big break as a writer for Saturday Night Live back in 2014. She likely got more people's attention on-screen for her role in HBO's Insecure (2016). She became more well known though for her Emmy-nominated character in HBO's The White Lotus (2021). She garnered a lot of critical success, which probably allowed her to create and star in this comedy series. There are romantic elements and threads of Black woman-empowerment that was an undercurrent, if not a staple of Insecure. There's also a bit of the workplace comedy that was present in The White Lotus, minus the murder mystery stuff. There have been tons of workplace comedies from Cheers (1982) to The Office (2005). Yet, this series stands apart because the workplace here is an airport, which is something we haven't seen since Wings (1990), a series about a small plane field, not a giant international one. This series in that regard gives us some insight on such a larger operation and how the workers there feel about such an environment.
Rothwell stars as Melissa Jackson or Mel, an employee at JFK International Airport. She's been there for four years. She drives a golf cart-like vehicle for passengers who need shuttling from one part of the terminal to another. She seems friendly with various employees, but she claims not to have any friends, except one. Mel is 35 and her lack of friends is never explained. She grew up in New York presumably, but she doesn't seem to have any childhood friends and that might need to be explicated in the second season. She seems charming, funny and vivacious, so it's difficult to accept her friendless status, which is a status that quickly goes away, so her lack of friends at the beginning only stands to force the premise of Mel having a lonely birthday that results in a near-death experience.
Conrad Ricamora (Fire Island and How to Get Away with Murder) co-stars as Rory Cohen, a 35-year-old, gay, Asian American who works at the airport's Hudson store. He's likely there because his adopted father is the president of the company that runs the JFK airport. He's essentially a trust fund baby who's biding his time. Yet, he's considered a disappointment to his father and struggles to make his dad proud. Rory is the aforementioned best friend to Mel and seemingly her only friend. He later calls her out for not having any other friends, but he doesn't seem to have any other friends, outside the people at work, either. If he does, the series doesn't depict it. If he does, why wouldn't he have included Mel in is other social circles? If he doesn't, why wouldn't the series call that out? Rory's role seems to be an easy contrivance, set up to be the one person she has who abandons her in her hour of need. Yet, he's easily dismissed after Episode 3.
It's not revealed until Episode 5, but Mel is somewhat estranged from her family. She's still in contact with her mother and her brother, Brian, played by Bashir Salahuddin (South Side and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon), but there are enough issues between them that causes Mel not to reach out to her family when she has her near-death experience. Episode 5 involving Brian is in fact probably the best episode. It's not exactly explained why she wouldn't reach out to her family after almost dying. What we get in Episode 5 doesn't rise to the level of understanding why she wouldn't. Yet, by Episode 5, her friendless status has been completely abated and all of a sudden she has two girlfriends who are just magically there completely undermining the very premise of the series.
Jocko Sims (New Amsterdam and The Last Ship) also co-stars as Alex Williams, the manager of the terminal where Mel works. He's also the ex-boyfriend of Mel. It's made clear that she broke up with him. It's also made clear that she did so for insecurity and identity issues that she has. She's not ready to be in a committed relationship. Thus, the series begins with Alex getting married to another woman, but he strangely sends an invitation to Mel to attend his wedding in Hawaii.
Now, in order to enjoy this series, one has to suspend your disbelief about this because it makes no sense that Alex would invite Mel to his wedding. Mel is his ex-girlfriend. She's the woman who dumped him in the first place. She broke his heart. It makes no sense that Alex's new fiancée would allow such an invitation. It could make sense, but the series never provides an examination of Alex making that choice and sending that invitation. What also doesn't make sense is that he would send that invitation because it would require Mel to get on an airplane in order to fly to his wedding in Hawaii. Why it doesn't make sense is because Alex knows that Mel has never flown on an airplane before. Mel has a fear of flying, which Alex would know having dated her and being her boss at the airport, so the fact that he would invite her to an event, requiring she get on a plane, defies credulity and feels contrived in order to affect what might be the main premise.
KeiLyn Durrel Jones (The Other Two and Succession) plays Terrance, a baggage handler. He mainly works outside on the tarmac. He frequently talks to Mel because she comes outside for a cigarette or lunch break. She does so in Terrance's area. She's friendly with him and he's very complimentary to her. He's arguably a friend to her, but when she says she has no friends or others accuse her of having no friends, it's strange that Terrance isn't considered. However, as the series progresses, it becomes evident that Mel not seeing Terrance for who he is and how he feels about her is a bit of the point.
Yet, unlike anyone else, Terrance is the one who actually takes steps to help Mel overcome her fear of flying. Mel's issue appears to be a combination of acrophobia and claustrophobia, but other than her friendships and romantic life, the main premise seems to be about Mel being able to get over these fears and anxieties holding her back. When the series focuses on that, the show and Rothwell really shine.
Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 30 mins. / 8 eps.
Available on Hulu.