Elder Millennial

Iliza Shlesinger spent her previous hours on Netflix acting as an interpreter for the straight single woman, but here she steps into the role of an elder stateswoman of dating. At 35 and newly engaged, she looks back at the desperation of her twenties with a mix of relief and exhaustion. Her physical comedy is as hyperactive as ever; she uses weird goblin voices, peacock mating calls, and physical contortions to map out the weird, unspoken rituals of female social circles. The centerpiece of the hour is her breakdown of the “she-dragon,” the grotesque monster of comfort that a woman becomes the second a man leaves her apartment.

Filmed aboard the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Hornet in Alameda, California, this was Shlesinger’s fourth Netflix special. Dressed in sailor-button flared pants that matched the naval venue, she framed herself as a guide to younger millennials dealing with dating apps and performative romance. The material focuses heavily on the exhausting amount of effort women put into looking effortless, the awkwardness of explaining how you met on Tinder, and the evolutionary urge to squeeze chubby baby legs.

Critics generally appreciated her brisk, high-energy delivery, though some noted that her take on heterosexual mating dynamics can occasionally feel a bit traditional.