REVIEW: ‘Laid’ Strikes A Bizarre Tonal Balance

The main draw to Laid (2024), the new comedy-series adaptation on Peacock, is the undeniable charm of its lead star, Stephanie Hsu. Breaking out in Everything Everywhere All At Once in 2022, every subsequent appearance of hers reminds audiences of her endless charisma. It’s on full display in Laid as she balances a deeply selfish character that must be winsome and likable for viewers to engage with her story. It’s too bad, then, that the rest of the series doesn’t quite live up to her infectious performance. Hsu shines bright, but the series often gets lost in its tone.

Based on the Australian TV series of the same name, Laid follows Ruby Yao, a 33-year-old woman looking for love. Our introduction finds her on a third date, and she regales him of a past near hook-up that ended disastrously. The two sleep together — it’s awkward — and she realizes they don’t have the right chemistry. But while she had hope for this new relationship, it didn’t devastate her. No, the absolute devastation comes when she learns that an ex-boyfriend, who she relentlessly teased behind his back, died recently. And it’s soon after that another meets an untimely, gruesome end.

The series follows Ruby as she finds herself deeply embedded in a mystery as her exes begin to die in the order in which she slept with them. Developed by Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna, Laid tracks Ruby’s exploits as she deals with her tumultuous romantic past and tries to figure out just what is causing the murder spree.

The series is at its best and most nonsensical. Laid has fun weaponizing off-beat writing and performers who are game to be silly. Zosia Mamet, as Ruby’s best friend, AJ, is energized as AJ becomes hyper-fixated on the deaths, tagging along with Ruby to investigate and interrogate any exes for signs or patterns of why this fate may be befalling them.

A montage of the two confronting past exes highlights this — along with the murder board that a sleep-deprived AJ wheels into Ruby’s bedroom. In the montage, we watch Ruby confront her past terrible behavior, which has left most of her exes bitter with her. She’s constantly told that she’s the worst, and, based on how self-absorbed she is at the start, it’s hard not to agree with them. The montage also allows for some cameo appearances, such as Simu Liu and John Early. Early, in particular, makes a minor meal out of his bit part.

However, throughout the eight episodes, no character is fleshed out beyond Ruby and, to an extent, AJ. Even AJ feels little more than an amalgamation of quirks and celebrity references. Michael Angarano shows up as one of the exes and has a quiet naturalism to him, and Tommy Martinez as Isaac, the client Ruby has a crush on, is poised as the perfect ‘the one’ but suffers from even less personality than AJ beyond liking musicals. The light and life come through mainly through Hsu, even when Ruby is insufferable.

Through more context and, again, Hsu’s innate, goofy likability, it’s not too much of a turnoff, even as she often poises herself for public humiliation. But all together, Laid is too barren to engage with fully. The sets are either crisp and unlived in or oddly vacant. Even the bar they frequent where AJ works misses the grime that such a hole-in-the-wall venue would necessitate.

And that hollowness seeps into every crevice of the series. Because despite the chemistry between Hsu and Mamet,  we don’t particularly care about their friendship. And none of the male suitors offer anything that makes us want to root for them. It’s a vehicle for jokes and one-liners more than anything else. Plus, there is a glut of references. Everything from Amanda Knox to Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story to The Greatest Showman gets multiple references.

The series does range from casually to wickedly funny. It’s best when it leans into the absurdism of the situation as Ruby tries to understand the logistics of what’s going on. The deaths her exes suffer range from natural to ludicrous, from poor health conditions to plane crashes. And that silliness, plus some biting one-liners, can be hilarious. The comedic writing and Hsu and Mamet’s delivery are superb. It’s just that the direction and setup possess that crisp, cheap, even, that affects so many current streaming options.

Laid is an enjoyable watch with a level of detachment. Stephanie Hsu is genuinely remarkable, nailing both the comedic timing and brief, emotional beats. But the series can’t ever live up to its star’s radiance. You’ll laugh, but it won’t stick

Laid (2024) premieres December 19 on Peacock.