Shakina Nayfack Seeks to Diversify Expectations of Trans Characters on Hulu’s Difficult People

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Difficult People is a difficult show to watch – mostly because it’s about assholes. And as far as Shakina Nayfack is concerned, it’s about time that trans actors got to play trans characters who are just as assholish as anybody else.

She has just been added to the cast for the second season of Hulu’s Difficult People in the role of Lola, whom Entertainment Weekly describes as:

Lola, a new waitress at D’s Café who will clash with Billy Eichner’s character […]

Lola is described as “strong and opinionated and crass,” with controversial opinions like believing 9/11 was an inside job. While she butts heads with Billy at first, she’ll soon fit in with the other resentment-filled employees.

Nayfack, who in addition to being a performer is also an accomplished theater producer, writer, and director, is thrilled by the opportunity to play a trans role that isn’t some kind of martyr:

“In the quest for transgender visibility we’ve only been introduced to sympathetic roles that rely on victimization or stereotypes in order to elicit empathy from our audiences,” Nayfack told The Advocate. “It is so refreshing to be able to play a trans woman who is funny, confrontational, and just as difficult as everyone else on the show.”

Have you been watching Difficult People? Will you be watching now that Nayfack is joining the cast? Let us know in the comments below!

(image via Shakina Nayfack on Facebook)

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Teresa Jusino
Teresa Jusino (she/her) is a native New Yorker and a proud Puerto Rican, Jewish, bisexual woman with ADHD. She's been writing professionally since 2010 and was a former TMS assistant editor from 2015-18. Now, she's back as a contributing writer. When not writing about pop culture, she's writing screenplays and is the creator of your future favorite genre show. Teresa lives in L.A. with her brilliant wife. Her other great loves include: Star Trek, The Last of Us, anything by Brian K. Vaughan, and her Level 5 android Paladin named Lal.