When the movie “Girls Trip” debuted in 2017, it shifted the ground for women and Black-led comedies. The film also catapulted comic Tiffany Haddish into the spotlight, and since then, the “Night School” actress has had her fair share of starring roles. However, she has also found herself in a storm of controversies, including two DUIs, a very public romantic breakup and even a child-safety lawsuit that was later dismissed. In the Peacock docuseries “Tiffany Haddish Goes Off,” the Los Angeles-born comedian turns the camera on her real life and friendships, allowing audiences to get to know her beyond the brash jokes.
Haddish’s star power was immediately apparent in her breakout “Girls Trip” role; now, she appears primed for a new chapter. She fully lets down her guard and is extremely vulnerable on “Tiffany Haddish Goes Off.” The six-episode series opens in L.A. with Haddish inviting her best friends, whom she’s known for more than three decades, to brunch. These women embraced her amid her tumultuous childhood, her time sleeping in her car and her rise to fame.
In Haddish’s backyard, viewers are introduced to these besties: Selena Martin and sisters Shermona Long and Sparkle Clark. Haddish reveals how she met her friends, with overlays of photos of the ladies from the 1990s, and discusses how much they mean to her. After engaging in a very frank discussion about her difficult past few years, which Haddish calls the hardest of her adult life, she invites them on a whirlwind vacation across Africa.
The monthlong trip begins in the stunning city of Cape Town, South Africa, before continuing to Victoria Falls and Harare in Zimbabwe and concluding in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Diverse experiences, including visiting monuments such as Victoria Falls and the sacred Split Rock, as well as observing traditional healing customs and garb, are highlighted. Viewers also learn intricate and private details about the women and their lives. Along the way, Haddish and her friends get remarkably candid as they talk about the challenges of miscarriages, heartbreak, sexual assault, religion, weight loss and many other topics. It feels like a genuinely authentic series rather than one that’s heavily produced.
Haddish, in particular, reveals who she really is, warts and all. She acknowledges her DUIs, being sued and her grief over the loss of her beloved grandmother Alice and the end of her romance with rapper Common, as well as the endometriosis that has affected her fertility. As the holiday progresses, it’s clear that the instability of her family unit continues to affect her, compelling her to lean toward self-loathing remarks and humor to cope. Still, it’s not all heavy; Haddish’s sharp jokes and signature tagline, “She Ready!” are woven into the series’ structure.
“Tiffany Haddish Goes Off” works not only because it allows Haddish to show up in her full humanity, but also, despite some squabbles and disagreements among the friends, because audiences can feel the love in the group. The series is what “Real Housewives” might be if the cast were actually friends. Moreover, it shows that despite fame and wealth, celebrities are just human beings who carry deep-seated wounds and traumas. It doesn’t seek to excuse any of Haddish’s mishaps, but it offers context. Though this ladies’ trip has ended, should the show get a second season, it’s intriguing to imagine where these four women might venture off to next.
All six episodes of “Tiffany Haddish Goes Off” are now streaming on Peacock.