While the debate over women’s inherent comedic ability soldiers on like your least-favorite dad joke, funny women are slowly taking over Hollywood. The latest example comes to us by way of the surprise summer hit Hotwives of Orlando.
Not only is this brazen parody of the “Real Housewives” franchise a pitch-perfect riff on an already ridiculous genre, it’s a successful comedy written by, produced by, and starring women. The series, which premiered on Hulu in July, features familiar faces like The Daily Show’s Kristen Schaal and The Office’s Angela Kinsey.
But you might as well familiarize yourself with Hotwives’ less recognizable leading ladies now, because in a few short weeks these women will be everywhere, from network sitcoms to major motion pictures. This is thanks in large part to Hotwives’ summer success as a “scathingly brilliant” show that A.V. Club noted features “a cast stacked with more female talent than any other current TV comedy.”
“The best part of working on this project was to be able to be with all these people…every day. It’s so rare that all of us women get to work together en masse and just crack each other up,” said Hotwives’ Andrea Savage, who plays hilarious Lisa Vanderpump send-up Veronica Von Vandervon, in an interview for US Weekly. “Everyone was up for it and everyone was fun and nice and it was just really nice to be able to all work together…To blow it out and be as crazy and raunchy and ridiculous as we could possibly be.”
Read up on the hot minds behind the Hotwives, many of whom will continue writing and acting together on upcoming projects, and find out where you can catch their talents next.
Danielle Schneider, Series Co-creator, Writer, and Executive Producer
Hotwife character portrayed: Shauna Maducci, The Bankrupt Hoarder
Tagline: “‘Sugar and spice and everything nice,’ is not how I would describe myself.”
Notable “Hotwives” moment: Hiring an interior designer (Kate Walsh) to decorate the roadside tent that she, her husband (played by real-life husband and Upright Citizens Brigade co-founder/improv legend Matt Besser), and their four or five daughters (they never remember how many) had to move into after her outrageous spending drove them to bankruptcy.
What else she’s known for: Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Best Week Ever, Stepbrothers, Celebrity Deathmatch, Players, Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (writer)
Where to see her work next: NBC’s Marry Me (writing and appearing in), Universal’s Boys Are Stupid, Throw Rocks at Them! (writer), New Line Cinema’s Catfight (writer)
Dannah Phirman, Series Co-creator, Writer, and Executive Producer
Hotwife character portrayed: Alli
Tagline: None, because much to Alli’s dismay, she’s not a hotwife.
Notable “Hotwives” moment: Desperately trying to be part of the group and secretly being the mastermind behind all the “drama” that ensues between the hotwives.
What else she’s known for: Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, WordGirl (voice and writer), Newsreaders, MADtv, Best Week Ever, The Mighty B (voice and writer), Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (writer), Monsters University
Where to see her work next: Catfight (writer), Boys Are Stupid, Throw Rocks at Them (writer), Marry Me (writer)
[youtube ratio=”0.5625″ position=”standard” caption=”Casey Wilson as Tawny St. John”]
Casey Wilson
Hotwife character portrayed: Tawny St. John, The Gold Digger with the Dying Husband Who’s Not Really Dying—She Just Wishes He Would
Tagline: “Whoever said love is blind, never saw my husband.”
Notable “Hotwives” moment: Throwing a very aggressive fundraiser for her charity, Classy Canines, “which provides high heels for dogs in Orlando.”
What else she’s known for: Saturday Night Live, Happy Endings, Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Bride Wars (writer and actress), For Your Consideration
Where to see her work next: David Fincher’s Gone Girl, Marry Me, her ongoing sketches on Funny or Die
Angela Kinsey
Hotwife character portrayed: Crystal Simmons, Devoted Christian Wife
Tagline: “Every little girl dreams of ending up in Orlando. I’m living a fairy tale!”
Notable “Hotwives” moment: Devout and deluded Christian Crystal has a horrible tyrant for a husband but believes that it’s all part of God’s plan. “I don’t really read the Bible, because TJ told me that women can’t interpret it the way men can, because it’s written in Jewish. So he just tells me what it says.”
What else she’s known for: The Office, The Groundlings Theatre, iO WEST, Monk, License to Wed, Struck by Lightning, New Girl
Where to see her work next: All Stars, Hot Bot, SoulPancake’s The Impression Guys
Kristen Schaal
Hotwife character portrayed: Amanda Simmons, Former Child Star
Tagline: “Showbiz is in my blood. As is heroin.”
Notable “Hotwives” moment: Every scene that the drug-addled former child star of the Florida Prune Juice commercials appears in is a total gem.
What else she’s known for: Flight of the Concords, The Daily Show, Bob’s Burgers, Gravity Falls, BoJack Horseman, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, Wilfred, Adventure Time, 30 Rock, Mad Men, South Park (writer), People’s Improv Theatre
Where to see her work next: Toy Story That Time Forgot, A Walk in The Woods, Lost in Austin, her weekly variety show Hot Tub at The Virgil in Los Angeles
[youtube ratio=”0.5625″ position=”standard” caption=””]
Tymberlee Hill
Hotwife character portrayed: Phenomenon “Phe Phe” Reed, The Sassy Jill-of-All-Trades
Tagline: (WHISPERING) “Phe Phe.”
Notable “Hotwives” moment: Telling it like it is. “Even if it’s cruel and unnecessary.”
What else she’s known for: Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Drunk History, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Grey’s Anatomy
Where to see her work next: Marry Me
Andrea Savage
Hotwife character portrayed: Veronica Von Vandervon, Mini-Golf Heiress with a “Pure Orlando” Accent
Tagline: “You don’t have to be Mr. Right to get with me. You just have to not have chlamydia.”
Notable “Hotwives” moment: Undergoing vaginal reconstruction surgery for her “deviated septum”…in her vagina.
What else she’s known for: The Groundlings Theatre, Step Brothers, HBO’s Funny or Die Presents (writer and actress), Kroll Show, The League, The Life and Times of Tim, Dinner For Schmucks, Dog Bites Man (writer and actress), Party Down
Where to see her work next: The Pro, Duty, Sleeping With Other People, You’re Not You
