Hulu's Extraordinary Comedy Lives Up to Its Title in Season 2

Superhero fatigue can’t keep Extraordinary down — it actually makes the Hulu comedy even more potent. The 2023 series, which was created by Emma Moran, started off taking the piss out of high-flying stories about crime fighters by presenting a world in which powers like invisibility, shape-shifting, and communing with the dead are as commonplace as brown eyes and unattached earlobes. So are financial woes, anxiety, and relationship struggles. Turns out, having superpowered beings on every corner doesn’t automatically make the world a better place. Even so, as one of the few people without any such abilities, Jen (Máiréad Tyers) is positive her life would be better if she could turn back time or multiply herself.

That winking commentary, along with Tyers’ prickly, albeit lovable protagonist, made Season 1 an unexpected delight when it premiered in 2023. But it’s still managed to grow by leaps and bounds in Season 2, which is now out on Hulu. The new episodes are supercharged — funnier, darker, thornier, and with even more Jizzlord (Luke Rollason). Season 2 calls to mind Poor Things and All of Us Strangers as much as shows like Doom Patrol and The Tick (if only Powerless had had some of its verve).

Primetimer sat down with Moran, Tyers, and Sofia Oxenham (who plays Carrie, a medium who’s also Jen’s best friend and roommate) at the Television Critics Association 2024 winter press tour to dig into the new season, which introduces both an antagonist for Jen — Nora (Rosa Robson), Jizz’s (aka Rob) wife — and a mentor (The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt as George). But even with such archetypes in place, the show continues to steer clear of conventional superhero storytelling. Though Moran describes Extraordinary as a “loving parody” of the genre, she tells us the “superhero element isn't really the point of the show — it's kind of to enhance everything that's already there. Ideally, you could just watch the show without it and it would still function.”

[Note: Spoilers for Extraordinary Season 2 ahead.]

And she’s right — Extraordinary also tells an incisive coming-of-age story that isn’t limited to any one generation. Though most of the characters (and cast and writers) are in their 20s or 30s, this isn’t a show about Gen Z or even younger millennials. New adults rarely have it together, whether they entered their twenties in the 1970s, aughts, or the “roaring” 2020s. Moran says she was “really keen to show how not great life is,” even when you’re young and full of life. Pop culture has rendered new adulthood much more glamorous and easygoing than it actually is (to say nothing of setting extraordinarily high expectations for apartment sizes). But she also admits that her show’s “grim rejection of the older generations ‘work really hard and succeed and be the best’ attitude is quite Gen Z.”

Tyers agrees on both counts — she doesn’t see the show as being about Gen Z, but she acknowledges how often the story beats ring true for a Gen Z-er. Which is why she appreciates having Moran at the helm, calling her writing “always bang on the money.” And Tyers notes how shows made for twentysomethings by fortysomethings can often miss the mark: “Sometimes you watch shows where it feels like it's older people being like, ‘We're making a Gen Z show for Gen Z[-ers],’ and [the characters are] saying things like ‘What’s up’ and all that. [Laughs.] It’s cringe. But this is not that.”

Still, Extraordinary isn’t exactly down to earth, however relatable the central friendship between Jen and Carrie might be. In Season 2, Carrie is possessed by a horny old vamp, Jen and her mother Mary (Siobhán McSweeney) fight over the spirit of her dead father, Kash (Bilal Hasna) stages an impromptu musical about his exploits as a vigilante, and there’s more pixelated russet-colored pubic hair than is strictly necessary. And somehow, a character with “Jizz” in his name goes on the most poignant journey of self-discovery. (When we ask if the name “Jizzlord” is censored on Disney+ or through any of its affiliates, Moran, Tyers, and Oxenham say no, but offer up some of his international aliases: “Inséminateur” and “Éjaculateur.”)

But the show remains quite humanistic as it tests the bonds between the main characters, and challenges what they (and we) think they already know about themselves. The lads trail the ladies early on — “Step up, boys,” jokes Tyers — but they show their own considerable growth. “Everyone's trying to be adults this season basically. They take on new responsibilities and can't quite make the mark, but they're trying,” Moran says. Kash’s artistic awakening leads to a sexual one, and it’s one of the most rewarding arcs of the series to date. And after spending much of the season trying to live his life according to the standards of others, including his ultra-competitive wife, Jizzlord learns to trust himself.

As for Carrie and Jen, Oxenham and Tyers say the new challenges they face bring the friends closer together and put a strain on their relationship. But Carrie still tries to figure out who she is without Kash or Jen, leading to her own wonderful moment of self-acceptance. And Jen learns just how much she’s been asking of Carrie, who’s acted as a father figure while channeling her father.

This foursome probably couldn’t save their corner of London from a supervillain (or even a regular one), but they roll with some pretty painful punches this season. Jizz finally learns what traumatic event made him block out years of his life (“getting cucked so hard you turned into a cat”). But, appropriately, it’s Jen who endures the greatest loss and is left facing the unknown on her own in the season’s final moments. In order to move forward with her life and increase the odds of finally unlocking her power, she has to say goodbye to her dad. No more phone calls, no more channeling, no more fatherly advice. Tyers and Oxenham are exceptional in this scene, embodying a wide range of emotions — and distinct characters — while keeping their own bond on display. Jen is able to get through this because of Carrie, not because Carrie once channeled her dad.

Season 2 ends with a cliffhanger, as Jen falls into The Void, a kind of cosmic dumping ground. This creates all kinds of possibilities for Season 3 (Hulu, if you’re reading, please renew already), including the discovery of Jen’s power. Asked if that’s what she has in mind, Moran says she hasn’t decided when or even if Jen’s ability will ever be made known. “The answer doesn't really matter very much,” she says. “It’s more about Jen's journey with herself and how she feels about herself, whether she gets one or not. I don't think she'll end up in the same place.”

Whether or not Jen will be able to get out of her own way, even if it’s just to live an “ordinary” life, presents just as great a mystery as her absent ability. "Is it normal that when things go wrong in your life, you just want to go all in and ruin everything?” she wonders late in the season, channeling Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Fleabag. The power of Extraordinary is in depicting that personal journey as every bit as awe-inspiring as one that traverses the galaxy (though, from the looks of things, that’s not off the table).

Danette Chavez is the Editor-in-Chief of Primetimer and its biggest fan of puns.