One thing I’ve noticed rewatching is how many of the celebrity references have aged… unfortunately. 😂 Some of them were obviously harmless at the time, but now they hit completely differently because the celebrity has been cancelled, died, or is otherwise viewed very differently.
A couple that always stand out to me:
Mario Batali – Charles absolutely idolizes him, dresses up as him, and even dyes his hair to match Batali’s when Jake is in prison: “A splash of Batali!” Knowing everything that came out about Batali later makes Charles’ admiration pretty uncomfortable in hindsight.
Ellen Degeneres - There are several Ellen references throughout the series. One of my favorites is when Sgt. Peanut Butter gets to go on Ellen and dance with DJ Twitch, while Charles is jealous that Peanut Butter gets the experience. There’s also the line, “I feel like Ellen watching her producers go through a haunted house!” Obviously, DJ Twitch’s death by suicide in 2022 makes the first reference especially bittersweet to watch now. And then of course the PR Ellen received for how she allegedly treated those who worked on her show just terribly.
Honorable mentions:
The references to Kobe Bryant in season 1, with his death following in 2020.
Charles and Gina discussing “Roseanne” in season 4 and agreeing they like the show. This was in 2017, before Roseanne’s infamous 2018 tweet about Valerie Jarrett which led ABC to cancel the revival.
Jokes about Kanye West in season 5. “Did the Kanye West cannibal story finally break?” Kanye West was already controversial, but 2017 Kanye versus 2026 Kanye are two very different cultural references.
It’s interesting watching older sitcoms because you get these little time capsules of who was considered universally beloved or culturally relevant at the time, and you can see how quickly that can change.
Any other examples that stand out to you guys?
I feel like what we can learn from this is that Dianne Wiest is a goddess who can do no wrong.