When you catch your man in bed with a slimmer version of yourself, you might just fall to pieces — that is, if you didn’t have your best friends to prop you up. In Survival of the Thickest, out now on Netflix, fashion stylist Mavis’ best friends Khalil and Marley are her chosen family. They pack her bags (taking a few choice designer souvenirs, natch), bolster her confidence (whether she’s prepping for a shot at styling Lizzo or a ’90s supermodel icon) and help her learn how to seize the love, happiness and success she deserves.
In the throes of a breakup and on the cusp of a career breakout, the delightfully down-to-earth Mavis catapults her way through a series of late nights and hilarious faux pas, surrounded by friends, lovers, boss bitches and the loving support of her neighborhood drag bar. Life has turned up the heat on her dreams and there’s no time to lose.
Created by comedian Michelle Buteau (check out this interview!) and writer-producer Danielle Sanchez-Witzel (New Girl), Survival of the Thickest stems from Buteau’s honest and hilarious first-person book of the same name.
At 38, Mavis is an assistant stylist who’s finally just on the cusp of breaking into bigger things when she discovers her partner in love and work in bed with another woman. On fashion shoots, Mavis has always survived by her wits, creatively thinking on her feet — now she’s determined to thrive on her own and on her own terms.
After two decades of doing stand-up, Buteau won over audiences in her first solo comedy special, Welcome to Buteaupia. She’s gone on to star in Always Be My Maybe, Marry Me and Isn’t It Romantic and write a collection of essays. Survival of the Thickest, adapted from her book and sharing its title, marks her first series as co-creator, star and executive producer.
You can follow Buteau on Instagram.
Who wouldn’t want a best friend as devoted as Khalil? When Mavis is thinking in the most self-deprecating ways about her ex (“They’re like, [Jacque’s] the hot photographer, and I’m just lucky to be with him”), he’s quick to steer her straight. “Do not breathe life into that silly-ass narrative,” Khalil tells her. An art instructor who’s never been one for long-term relationships, Khalil finds himself falling hard for one of his adult students.
A stint teaching elementary school no doubt prepared Bell for a career in comedy. The actor is known for roles in Key and Peele, The Flash and Whitney.
You can follow Bell on Instagram.
Mavis’ other bestie is a powerhouse, commanding the boardroom at her finance job, where she’s often the only Black woman at the table. She’s just as forceful when it comes to standing up for her friends: Marley is unwavering in her belief in Mavis’ success in life and love — even as she unexpectedly begins to acknowledge a different romantic trajectory of her own.
Smith is known for her roles in First Wives Club, Empire, Running Out of Time Dolemite Is My Name and The Corner. She’s been nominated for NAACP Image Awards in acting (For Better or Worse) and directing (When Love Kills).
You can follow Smith on Instagram.
Neither Marley nor Khalil can truly abide Mavis’ new abode — a messy Brooklyn apartment share with Jade, the quirky roommate who is never not home but is always, in her wacky and warmhearted way, up in Mavis’ business.
Treyger is known for her roles in Nope and The King of Staten Island as well as her own half-hour special in the Netflix series The Degenerates.
You can follow Treyger on Instagram.
A fashion photographer who’s inevitably surrounded by models at work, Jacque still seeks out his favorite muse when on set — Mavis, his live-in girlfriend of five years. After Mavis discovers his infidelity, he claims it was a onetime transgression and will seemingly stop at nothing in order to win her back. The question is, what does Mavis want?
Born in Monrovia, Liberia, and raised in New York, former NFL player Selé is known for his recurring roles in the show named for the borough in which he grew up — Queens — and in P-Valley.
You can follow Selé on Instagram.
A striking and bright student in Khalil’s painting class, India’s powers of observation extend to his apartment — specifically what the lack of certain pieces of furniture communicate about his readiness for a long-term relationship. But does the complicated nature of her own life have room for Khalil?
Although she’s appeared in episodes of The Good Fight and Tommy, Survival of the Fittest is Felix’s big TV debut. You may recognize her name from Broadway, where she’s appeared in Motown the Musical, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical and alongside Glenn Close in a revival of Sunset Boulevard.
You can follow Felix on Instagram.
Through one of her drag queen pals at her neighborhood bar, Mavis lands a meeting with Natasha Karina — a supermodel in the ’90s who’s determined to preserve the sleek and lean image of her youth. If Mavis can cut through the ice and talk the devastatingly glam and imposing icon out of squeezing herself into a corset for an upcoming event, she just might have scored a new client.
A successful former model herself, Beauvais’ first break as an actor was at age 19 as a rose bearer in Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America, a role she reprised in its 2021 sequel, Coming 2 America. Over the years she’s had recurring roles in Models Inc. and The Jamie Foxx Show, and recently, in Spider-Man: The Homecoming. In 2020, she became the first Black cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
You can follow Beauvais on Instagram.
Natasha’s long-suffering assistant, Bruce, is charged with protecting the interests of his stylish and imperious boss. That can translate to raised eyebrows and clutched pearls when a newcomer like Mavis arrives on the scene with ideas that challenge Natasha’s polished and perfected vision of her public self.
Lopez is known for roles in Broad City, Homeland and the feature film Mapplethorpe.
You can follow Lopez on Instagram.
Watch the Survival of the Thickest trailer below.
