http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/arts/television/review-insecure-hbo-issa-rae.html 2016-10-06 23:32:08 Review: ‘Insecure,’ or How to Negotiate Love and Commitment This HBO comedy, created by Issa Rae with Larry Wilmore, focuses on best friends and satirizes their workplaces, too. === The writer and actress To the extent that it means making something that will appeal to a wide range of viewers, she’s nailed it. “Insecure” (beginning on Sunday) stands out, even among a very strong crop of new television comedies. Its stories of buppie frustration and romance, set in Los Angeles, aren’t revolutionary, but they’re funny and moving, powered by Ms. Rae’s ear for dialogue of a kind of crystalline, pitch-perfect profanity. “Insecure,” which Ms. Rae created with But it’s a sign of the show’s generosity of spirit (or tendency toward sentimentality, if you want to put a different spin on it) that the largely clueless or defensive white characters aren’t simply caricatured. One of Issa’s co-workers slowly emerges as a genuine friend. And when Molly is asked by a partner to have a chat with a new hire — the only other black woman in the office — about toning down her behavior, Molly throws the task back on the partner, who registers the unfairness of the original request. (This works out O.K. for Molly; for the new hire, not so much.) The main focus of “Insecure,” however, is negotiating love, lust and commitment at a delicate time in life. (Issa is 29.) The basic rules of the game, and some of the formulaic ideas about the particular difficulties of dating for young professional African-Americans, don’t seem to have changed much from the days of Issa has a live-in, unemployed boyfriend, Lawrence, who is introduced to us half-dressed and lounging on their couch, taking a break from working on his eternally unfinished business plan. He looks like a classic loser, but as the season progresses (six episodes were available for review), our view of him steadily deepens. Before long, abetted by Jay Ellis’s thoughtful performance, Lawrence takes on an emotional weight equal to Issa’s and Molly’s. “Insecure” will be compared with other new comedies with black creators and stars, like Donald Glover’s