REVIEW: ‘This Fool’ Season 2 Pushes More Boundaries

Hulu Original This Fool was one of the best comedy series last year. Irreverent and extremely Chicano, the series is set in working-class South Central Los Angeles. Created and written by Chris Estrada and Pat Bishop, who also stars as the series protagonist Julio, This Fool is executive produced by Estrada, Pat Bishop, Jake Weisman, and Matt Ingebretson with Jonathan Groff and Fred Armisen also serve as executive producers on the series. It also stars Frankie Quinones, Laura Patalano, Julia Vera, Michael Imperioli, Jamar Malachi Neighbors, Michelle Ortiz, and Ivana Rojas.

Last season, 30-year-old Julio was stuck taking care of his cousin Luis (Frankie Quinones), an aging cholo trying to relive the glory days and reclaim the time he lost in prison. Only, the world moved on without him, and Julio isn’t necessarily excited to help even though he ran the charity Hugs Not Thugs, a gang rehabilitation nonprofit. At the end of the season, Julio’s life blew up irrevocably. Julio lost his job, his girlfriend, and now he’s stuck in a garage with Luis and trying to restart his life. Now, the two primos, Julio and Luis, embark on finding new careers as entrepreneurs with the help of Minister Payne (Michael Imperioli), Chef Percy (Jamar Malachi Neighnors), and other former Huggers, who all show up in even more dynamic and comedic ways than last season.

The way the series plays with Spanish-Spanglish is the main way that characters communicate, and multiple times the characters don’t speak it fluently. While it’s easy to dismiss so many of the characters as just embodying the no sabo kids (like myself), the series isn’t making fun of them but rather showing what life is. Even those who translate for parents struggle with certain words—even when they’re being held hostage. Yes, that happens this season. When Julio tells his mom, “Soy un hostage,” and she doesn’t understand, the comedy is implicit to the moment.

This Fool Season 2, much like the season before, also takes advantage of every moment to use the banality of life to capitalize on humor. Whether it’s a hot dog vendor set up outside the hostage situation, Julio Tambien’s entire existence, the little old Mexican man trying to keep his rooster alive, to the way Julio’s mom and abuelo always pop up no matter the situation, it’s all crafted to show humor in small moments as much as large skits. From language chosen, clothes, or small interactions, This Fool Season 2 is about crafting comedy by showing the world. Sometimes it’s exaggerated, but all of the time it uses situations and people that the audiences, especially Chicano audiences, will recognize.

Even the way that This Fool Season 2 brings up race and racism in the hood in a satirical manner without ever missing the point of how people relate to each other, specifically between Mexican-Americans and Black people in the same neighborhood. It’s not perfect, but many of the jokes and physical elements of comedy lend to everyday life in a recognizable way without heading into a full disrespectful lane. Irreverent yes, but never from a place of malice. Everyone is in on the joke.

That said, the comedy this season also comes with heart. Julio is lost in life and trying to find his way after losing a job that defined him and a romance he never thought would be gone forever. Simultaneously, Luis is struggling to adjust to life outside of prison still, only now he doesn’t really have an outlet like working for Julio’s charity. Even when he lands a job, it’s not fulfilling and doesn’t help reassert the schedule he was used to. However, at times, the heartfelt moments feel too detached from the main trajectory of the season’s narrative, which causes small pacing issues throughout.

This Fool Season 2 is all over the place, and to be honest, half of the time, it’s more akin to what would happen if the Gang from Always Sunny in Philidelphia was Chicano with the way that plans come together and the situations they find themselves in, than it is closer to any other comedy show on television right now. Unique, hilarious, and Mexican as all hell, This Fool Season 2 is a fantastic comedy series that needs more attention to keep going. Season 1 of the series was fantastic, and Season 2 is even more irreverent, with guest stars that add an extra layer of humor.

This Fool Season 2 is streaming on Hulu starting July 28, 2023.