Season Arc
In the pilot, Pat stops acting and starts writing. He’s drinking more and by episode two he wakes up in jail, and must attend A.A. as part of his probation. He’s taking classes in meditation and Buddhism, looking for hope, looking for himself. He goes briefly home to Missouri, trying to cure his chronic anxiety and advancing depression. Erica, meanwhile, is falling further into our support group. She’s desperate to connect with others in a real way. She tries communing with horses (yes, that’s a thing) and crystals and astrology. When her group of girlfriends from Alabama come to visit, Erica is forced to decide which identity to choose; the one they remember and approve of, or the new Erica who’s blossoming here in NYC. Pat then gets into a fancy grad school for writing and is treated as an outsider by teachers and students. Erica goes on to write and perform her stand-up act. She offends members of the audience, and now she must ask just who is allowed to tell jokes about whom? Pat runs out of money and must take a crummy modeling gig in the Hamptons which turns out to be a nightmare. Erica is also broke (Cortina pays shit) and she finds herself dating a man about whom she has mixed feelings; he fetishizes her size, but pays for everything and seems genuine and nice. But are his intentions pure? Pat begins to volunteer at a soup kitchen in order to find writing material. He learns people are not fodder for his plays. Erica volunteers at Rocky’s church and finds that people are not fodder for her stand-up act.
Other events: Two openly gay students are harassed at Cortina and Pat and Erica find out that black students are the culprits. Erica is hit on by a woman and goes to a gay bar. A Muslim brother-and-sister join Cortina and face discrimination when they pray toward Mecca, and with their clothing in general. Pat talks to a preacher at a grand NYC cathedral, trying to gain an insight into what makes people religious. Erica, meanwhile, faces a dying relative and must come to terms with our “final reception.” A student needs a support animal at school, and is roundly mocked, even by administration, while Pat finds a sick, stray dog and nurses him back to health in the apartment. Erica is doing bits onstage about how working animals are essentially slaves. This doesn’t go over well with the black audience members. In the season ender, Pat and Erica hang out in public spaces throughout NYC on their day off. They encounter many different kinds of people, all of whom have unique encounters in public spaces. They learn that Cortina has closed down and that they will have to find new jobs to match. What will happen to our two heroes on their search for belonging?