Welcome to my review of the HBO series, “Insecure,” the show that has given the Black community visibility, and accurate lighting, for seasons and I recently came across it and I cannot get enough. Why did I wait so long to watch this highly-praised series? This series centers around Issa, a young modern-day Black woman living in Inglewood, Calif., just trying to get her sh*t together. She’s a little weird, but good-for-TV kind of weird.

Honestly, this is Issa Rae’s world and we’re all #blessed to be living in it, mis bebés.

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Here’s a photo you can print at home to build your very own Issa shrine.

Credit: Insecure / HBO

La mía tiene those little succulents in a salsa “El Pato” can, but feel free to do you. 

So, let me lay down some Queen Issa backstory. Before she exploded with her hit series “Insecure,” she wrote and starred in her own web series called: “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.”

Credit: Issa Rae Presents / YouTube

I checked it out. It’s basically “Insecure,” pero sin HBO production dollars (click here for a link to the first episode). Despite being low budget, the web series caught the attention of Pharrell Williams, el hombre ese who looks like a 20-year-old muchacho que canta “Happy.” You know the song. They play it at every wedding and all your pinche tías se alocan and awkwardly try to reformat their salsa pasos to it.

“Because I’m happy… Clap along if you feel like…” Dale tía! Your dance moves no calan, pero no le hace!

Credit: Happy / Columbia Music

After Pharrell posted the second season of her series on his YouTube channel, the show took off, eventually getting the attention of HBO. That’s when “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” took on its final evolutionary form.

It morphed into “Insecure,” cabrones.

Creit: Pokémon

Now, let’s jump into the series. So I don’t spoil the show and dissect every single season (because y’all got tarantulas to trade on Animal Crossing), I’ll just speak to the main characters of the show. Y si los personajes les parecen “pipiris nice,” pues a huevo.  

Meet Issa: she likes to talk to mirrors and get freaky deaky.

Insecure / HBO

Earlier when I asked if y’all ever bought chones at Rite Aid, I wasn’t trying to be a cochino. I know you thought I was. But I wasn’t. In season one, Issa gets caught underwear shopping at Rite Aid. That’s a beautiful intro to Issa. The girl is struggling and she obviously isn’t trying to earn seduction points con sus chones baratos. 

She’s been in a five-year relationship with her unmotivated man. She works for a non-profit after-school program in Inglewood and she’s insecure af. The insecurity comes mostly from frustration out of not living the life she wants to live. She’s constantly talking with a different version of herself she sees in the mirror. Mirror Issa es una chingona. She raps. She doesn’t even care about anything and she’s ready to get it. 

Mirror Issa is all the things current Issa is not. But damn, the show gets so real. Issa (the real Issa) is not afraid to show how human flaws can bring out the cringe in people. In the show, you’ll see her character do questionable things, but the truth is we have all been there, fam. Issa’s vulnerability is what makes the show incredible. It’s a very true reflection of how we are.   

Meet Lawrence: Issa’s boo who is always a step behind.

Credit: Insecure / HBO

Lawrence (played by Jay Ellis), is Issa’s long-term love interest. Lawrence’s thing is, the dude is always a step behind. Your amá would refer to him as someone “que no se pone las pilas.” When his relationship is in trouble, Lawrence doesn’t act on it. When he gets a dope app-development job, he pitches an out-dated app idea called “Woot-Woot.” I don’t wanna spoil anything, so I’ll just say the dude siempre espera que las cosas le caigan en su mano. For the record, Lawrence isn’t necessarily a bad guy, but since he’s slow to realize things he ends up having to clean up a lot of messes he could’ve avoided if the menso had just acted a little sooner. As you continue to see more of his character, you’ll realize you can’t judge Lawrence too harshly because we’ve all been a little bit of a Lawrence at one time or another.

Meet Molly: Issa’s BFF who is bothered by everything.

Credit: Insecure / HBO

Molly is a mess. Guuurrll, let me tell you. On the outside, this comadre is hella-put-together: she’s a lawyer, has a fancy apartment, she’s got a super precioso French Bulldog, you guys, no mames, es un pinche tamalito de cuteness.

Pero por dentro la doña Molly se está pudriéndo, guey. Molly’s biggest issue throughout the series is her tendency to sabotage all her relationships. Why? Because everything bothers her. 

This is my theory on Molly: she’s got a perfect set up. You can tell she put up a vision board of her dream life as a kid and she made it all happen. She probably got good grades, worked hard, y a huevo todo le salió bien. Osea, she’s kind of a chingona. BUT, I think Molly assumes acquiring the perfect man works the same way. But no. It 👏 does 👏 not 👏 work 👏 that 👏 way 👏. Although you can work your butt off and one day buy your dream car, you can’t just work your butt off and buy yourself the perfect man. Imagine walking into the tianguis and perfect men are being sold a tres por 10.” My wife would be there now making it rain $10 bills and asking if they come in extra tall and handsome. 

If you want a perfect relationship, you need to find that person willing to work to build a perfect relationship with yourself. Molly dismisses guy after guy because none of them come standard with all her preferences and ideals of a perfect man. Sorry, Molly. If you want perfection, go get you some Gucci, but don’t count on no man being everything you ever wanted right out of the box.  

Meet Kelli: my personal favorite character.

Insecure / HBO

I’ve put y’all through enough reading today, but just know that if you watch the show, Kelli is a cochina y una loca and she’s gonna make you pee yourself. She has some of the funniest moments in the show — especially the Coachella episode in season 3. Kelli is also a ride or die friend and every group of friends has a Kelli. If you don’t got a Kelli, go get yourself a Kelli.

Speaking of friendship, friendship is one of the strongest themes of the show. Besides all the pedos and drama Issa faces in the series, her girl squad is the only thing that is a constant in her life. And this is refreshing to see because we need more stories with people of color sticking together. Even though Molly goes through men as fast as I go through Flaming Hot Cheetos, and Issa has drama with her own man and work, and Kelli and Tiffany (who I did not mention in this review…but, you’ll totally understand why when you watch the series and meet Tiffany) have their own thing going, the girls always come together. The episodes where they have girls-only getaways are the realest. They unpack all their issues, and they call each other out on their issues, sin tantita pena. This show will definitely make you call up your girls to thank them…and then ask them if they’re still going out con ese sin vergüenza. 

To sum everything up nicely, should you watch “Insecure”?

Mmm-hmm. The show speaks to a generation of young people trying to grow past their own flaws and insecurities, and very few shows do this in a relatable way let alone featuring stories of people of color. Even though you’ll feel seen from the most embarrassing aspects, “Insecure” te va ser cagar de la riza. 

Oh and I almost forgot to mention the music on the show is 🔥! Click this link for the Spotify playlist. Tus nalgas me lo van a agradecer.

Enjoy the show and keep it spicy, fam. And binge it on HBO NOW while you can get a 7-day free trial.